Slot must find right balance to tighten up his engine room

IF THE next stage of Arne Slot’s Liverpool evolution is now bordering on a revolution, there is at least continuity in his Anfield engine room.

- By PAUL GORST

While the Reds have a new fullback pairing of Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, there is also a new leader of the line in £79m striker Hugo Ekitike.

Florian Wirtz has arrived for a club-record fee of £116m from Bayer Leverkusen and the exciting Germany international is much more the archetypal No.10 to the one preferred last season in the tireless, hard-running Dominik Szoboszlai, who started deeper against Bournemouth on Friday.

But on the whole, Slot still has the same options available when constructing his weekly jigsaw puzzle in midfield.

There are issues to resolve on the training pitch, with the Premier League champions looking too exposed in transitions and turnovers.

It's telling that the two goals shipped in the 4-2 win over Bournemouth means they have already conceded as many goals from counterattacks as they did across the entirety of last season.

The return from suspension of the metronomic Ryan Gravenberch, with his poise, balance and ability to take care of the ball in tight spaces, will undoubtedly help, but Slot fixing the issue of his team being brutally countered - also on display in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace - will go a long way towards determining how many points are on the board by the September international break.

The big plus point for the Reds head coach and his staff is that kicking things off on the opening weekend means they have 10 days before their next assignment at Newcastle United on August 25.