'I have better options' - Arne Slot sends blunt message to Liverpool's forgotten man

In Liverpool's search for defensive reinforcements, it has been suggested Slot could turn to a lesser-seen member of the first-team squad, but he rejected that idea on Friday

Arne Slot has said he cannot see Calvin Ramsay playing a serious role in the Liverpool team(Image: Getty Images)

Arne Slot has given a blunt response to suggestions Calvin Ramsay could force his way into the Liverpool first-team plans, and claimed he has “better options” than the Scottish right-back.

The Reds have seen their defensive numbers reduced to just six for the remainder of the season following Conor Bardley’s season-ending knee injury. Slot was vague when asked if that might force the club into a rethink in the market, and it has been mooted that Ramsay could be an alternative solution for Liverpool.

The defender, now in his fourth season as a Red, has never played a Premier League match and, after returning from a loan spell at Kilmarnock this summer, opted to remain with Liverpool’s U21s.

He has since been drafted into the first-team picture, with the right-back playing in the Carabao Cup defeat against Crystal Palace in October, while he has been named as an unused substitute in the last seven matches.

However, clearly, Slot does not feel he is the solution to Liverpool’s defensive concerns.

"It’s great for Calvin where he is at the moment," said the Liverpool boss. "A half year ago, he came back to this club to the U21s.

"Everyone playing for the U21s is hoping for a chance [in the first team].

Calvin Ramsay is not expected to play a significant role this season despite Liverpool's injury issues(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“It is a big chance that he is having now to come to the first team. When someone is really unlucky when the injuries he is having like we are now, there is always a player that benefits from that.

“Calvin is one of them. He is with us, but I still think I have better options to play.

“The moment I am running out of options, he showed in the one game that he played against Palace, and the moments he trained with us, that he is good enough to be in and around our players, and then you have to wait for a chance to show this to the rest of the world.

“But at this moment in time, I have, in options, still better options than him.”

Ramsay this week said in an interview with the club’s internal media team that he was hoping to be handed more minutes in the coming months.

“I've always believed in myself, knew what I can do and I just knew I need to keep working hard and when I got an opportunity, like the Palace game, to take it,” he said.

”I think I did take it, so hopefully I can just keep going and maybe get some more opportunities.”