Liverpool have plenty to sort out this summer as Arne Slot begins work at his new club.
Slot officially starts his career with the Reds on Saturday and will have a relatively lengthy pile of papers on his desk.
Aside from the obvious need for some new additions for Liverpool in the transfer market, Slot also has three ‘dangerous’ contract situations to sort out.
Beyond that, the head coach is also having to navigate the complexities of bringing a new coaching staff to Liverpool. After news that one of his targets could be blocked from joining, that could be a headache for Slot.
Once all of that is done – and the small matter of a debut Premier League season is underway – the Dutch coach is already said to be looking ahead to next year.
Liverpool checking in on Mohammed Kudus
Obviously, it won’t actually be Slot who is the main driver of recruitment at Anfield. That job will fall to Richard Hughes, Michael Edwards and everyone else FSG already have, or are putting in place.
Nevertheless, the former Feyenoord man will obviously be aware of the plans being readied by Liverpool.
This summer, one of those ideas is reportedly to bring a new forward player in for Slot.
With that in mind, one man who has been linked with making the move to Anfield has been West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus.
READ MORE: Five realistic wingers Liverpool could target for Arne Slot this summer
After claims that Liverpool are readying a bid for Kudus though, journalist Graeme Bailey exclusively tells Rousing The Kop that a move would be more likely to come from the Reds next summer.
“Mohammed Kudus, there’s no release clause this summer, so I don’t see West Ham letting him go,” says Bailey. “That does come into effect next year, so it’s a possibility then.
“He’s definitely one on the radar for Liverpool,” adds the reporter. “He’s a terrific player and he’s hit the ground running in England. It’s not a surprise that they’re checking on him.”
Why do Liverpool want Mohammed Kudus?
There have been claims that the release clause which comes into effect for Kudus next year is actually as much as £85m.
In our opinion, we don’t see Liverpool going down that route in 12 months time.
Having said that, 2025 could be the year we see Mohamed Salah leave Anfield. If Kudus has had another good year at West Ham, maybe Liverpool will be convinced enough to go big on him.
Certainly, Kudus has already shown potential that he could be the much-vaunted successor to Salah.
Former West Ham boss David Moyes called the 23-year-old ‘terrific’ for his displays at the London Stadium this season [Sky Sports] and his 14 goals in all competitions shows that he knows where the goal is.
Clearly, Liverpool like Kudus. If he can have another year like the one just gone, things could get interesting.