With Arne Slot on the verge of joining Liverpool, we’re starting to get an idea of what his team may look like next season.
Since Slot emerged as the front-runner last week, Reds’ supporters will have been delving into everything they can find out about the Dutch coach.
Amongst that, we’ve taken a look at the players in the Liverpool squad who could benefit from Slot’s arrival, as well as those who may find themselves on the fringes.
But the Feyenoord manager’s impact will obviously extend to the transfer market, too. Although Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes look set to do most of the leg-work in regards to incomings, Slot will surely have a say as well.
As a result, we’ve started to see plenty of links with the kinds of players who the 45-year-old may want ay Liverpool. One of those players is Teun Koopmeiners, who was Slot’s captain at AZ Alkmaar. With the rumour mill in overdrive, journalist Fabrizio Romano has now attempted to clear things up.
What has Fabrizio Romano said about Teun Koopmeiners
Koopmeiners showed Liverpool just how good he was during Atalanta’s impressive Europa League win over them recently.
The 26-year-old’s displays across the two legs reportedly caught the Reds’ eye.
Not that it should have been anything new for Liverpool. They’ve been linked with a move for Koopmeiners for most of the past year and more.
Obviously, as a former favourite of Slot’s, it makes sense that those rumours would ramp up following news that he’s taking over at Anfield. According to Romano for his Daily Briefing though, there’s nothing ‘concrete’ as of yet.
“Teun Koopmeiners has been linked with Liverpool as a player that Slot likes, but Slot has not discussed any names with Liverpool so far when it comes to transfer targets,” says the reporter.
“It’s obvious now to link Dutch players with Liverpool, but the reality is that nothing is advanced or concrete now, it’s still too early. It’s also worth saying that Juventus consider Koopmeiners as one of their main targets for the summer window.”
Will Liverpool sign Teun Koopmeiners
It’s clear that Koopmeiners is a player who has been in and around Liverpool’s thinking over the past 12 months.
However, we actually think that the Netherlands international was one of those being considered last summer. Having gone after other targets instead, we don’t see the Reds coming back in now.
Part of the reason for that is that Koopmeiners would reportedly cost any willing buyer around £51m this summer. As we know, Edwards usually likes to target younger players with potential for those kinds of fees. Perhaps bizarrely, Koopmeiners feels a little old at 26.
There are questions over whether that policy is the right one to employ. But it’s certainly worked for Edwards in the past.
As a result, we feel that the ship may have sailed for Liverpool and Koopmeiners. He’s a good player and all, but we’re fine with that.