13 hours ago
28
Though Liverpool has spent big on a variety of players this summer, breaking its transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, the bottom line when the window closes will not be as large as some imagine.
If Newcastle United relents on its not-for-sale stance on Alexander Isak, that will be another major addition for Liverpool. But even then, the Reds have sold well — and in high volume — over the last few weeks.
"There is a big difference between Liverpool and Feyenoord," Slot said on the Men In Blazers podcast when he was asked about the approach at Anfield since winning the league title. "The difference is that at Feyenoord, there is a level above.
"There is no level above Liverpool so at a club like Feyenoord, the players who perform really well make the next step in their career. They either go to the Premier League or to La Liga, or somewhere else.
"At a club like Liverpool, it is quite normal that players stay where they are. But I think people tend to forget at the moment, you mentioned $300M spent, but people are forgetting how much money we brought in not only this summer, but also last summer.
"Last summer, we had a big plus. We earned more than we spent. This summer, people also forget that we have lost Caoimhin Kelleher, Jarell Quansah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez.
"And the biggest tragedy of all was that Diogo Jota passed away. So many of them have played a lot of minutes for us that it is normal that we also need to spend.
"We have spent big compared to last season but if you balance it up, what we did this summer and what we made last summer, then I think the balance is maybe almost equal.
"That is something that is quite rare in the Premier League. Normally, teams only spend and never sell."
Trent Alexander-Arnold moved to Real Madrid a few weeks before his contract expired for a fee of around $13M/£10M, Jarell Quansah brought in around $47M/£35M including add-ons, Caoimhin Kelleher $24M/£18M, Tyler Morton $20M/£15M, Luis Diaz $89M/£66M, Nat Phillips $4M/£3M, and Darwin Nunez $62M/£46M.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Later this week, Ben Doak is expected to become the latest in a long line of players to have left Liverpool this summer. Bournemouth is set to pay around $34M/£25M for his signature.
Once that deal goes through — and others including Harvey Elliott could yet inflate the number further — Liverpool will have brought in a total of around $259 million (£193 million) in players sold this summer.
That would put its current net spend at $142 million (£105 million) after the addition of Giovanni Leoni from Parma and before any move for Isak or Marc Guehi.
As Slot said, in the full context of the window, Liverpool made a profit last summer. In the winter window, it didn't spend anything, and it brought in major prize money from the Premier League and the Champions League.
There is no change in the wider approach here: Liverpool is spending what it earns, and aiming to bring in players who can prove to be good value and with the best years of their careers ahead of them.
English (US) ·