The truth is, managing Liverpool in 2015 is not the same as managing Liverpool in 2025/6. Klopp raised the standards, and Slot needs to prove he can meet them on a consistent basis. And obviously the Liverpool hierarchy continue to have reservations about this.

The piece is quite balanced. But it does not address why Slot did not get a new contract after winning the league last summer.

To keep with the theme of Northcroft's piece, Klopp got a new contract after loosing the Europa league final and finishing 8th.

Another player Bayern wanted earlier in the summer. Hopefully it will all be over soon, and the fan bases can go back to treating each other with respect. I hope Woltemade does well for you!

Fair enough then. Sorry for jumping on it like that.

Like comparing apples and oranges. Wirtz is a creator. I am sure he makes many passes in training that VVD finds it hard to defend against (although I would like to see more evidence of this in competitive games - early days though).

They proposed a fee to start negotiations. We both know the final fee for Isak (if there is one) will be higher than with Wirtz. I just think it's unfair to characterise Wirtz as unproven.

Obviously Isak is a good player, and Liverpool are willing to pay more for him than Wirtz (as they made clear). But you cannot compare Isak's trophy haul at 25/26 to Wirtz at 22/23. Wirtz has by far the better pedigree.

Wirtz won the Bundesliga with Leverkusen. They went unbeaten all year in the league and cups, and he was their best player. And he‘s 3 years younger than Isak. LFC would be happy to use Wirtz as a precedent for Isak‘s transfer.

I agree that NUFC and PIF will do what is in their best interests. In some scenarios, keeping Isak is in their best interests. These increasingly panicked bids for sub-par players at the end of the window is not a sign of good planning.

Your original point is right though, time is running out.

All options are still possible. At the moment, people are just guessing about who is bluffing most successfully at this present point in time.

Yes, this was always a risk. But Wirtz is 22 and Salah is 33. There is a need to balance the long term benefit against short term wins.

Right, but Liverpool have to balance long-term with the short term. And the football strategy team are paid to get these decisions right (signing Ekitike over Sesko for example).

If Man Utd sign good players they will improve. Liverpool are trying to take commercial deals from Utd at the moment, by presenting themselves as the biggest/best club in England.

Another possible future: Newcastle would like to sell Isak. They know how difficult it will be reintegrating Isak (dressing room issues - see start of last season, and declining value). They are therefore willing to overpay to sign Strand Larsen and Wissa before the deadline. Then sell Isak to LFC.

An alternate version: Man Utd moved late for Ekitiké. Newcastle had no agreement on the player side, and may have been beaten to him by Man United. Liverpool did not want to see a rival get such a good player, so pulled the trigger on the move. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

He could be reintergrated, but it will never be the same again. Now all the club can do is defend themselves as much as possible. Replace him, preferably as soon as possible, then extract maximum value.

Agree for the most part. Agents will always chase money. But I do think he may also have told Newcastle and Howe at the start of the summer, and the club underestimated how far he was willing to go to rock the boat. And ultimately, he is responsible for what he does. His name is under that statement

Agreed. It's always sad when things work out this way. It was Torres for Chelsea for me. After that, you can only trust they players after they sign two new contracts (Salah and VVD).

Fair enough. But the club have also have to take responsibility for the position they find themselves in. They have left themselves with no good options. And even keeping an unmotivated Isak may do more harm than good in the end.