ARNE SLOT CONFIRMS FAILED DEADLINE DAY MOVE FOR LUTSHAREL GEERTRUIDA
Arne Slot reveals Liverpool’s failed attempt to sign Lutsharel Geertruida and explains the £60m summer deal for Jeremy Jacquet.
Arne Slot says Liverpool tried to sign Lutsharel Geertruida before the January window slammed shut, and yeah, he wanted to add to his squad.
But Slot isn’t losing sleep over missing out. Now, he’s focused on getting Liverpool back into the Champions League, even if he didn’t get the reinforcements he wanted.
January was rough—injuries to Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, and Jeremie Frimpong left Liverpool’s defence looking thin. Giovanni Leoni had already been ruled out for the season since September with an ACL injury. So the club went after Geertruida, who used to captain Slot’s Feyenoord side.
But Geertruida, who’s on loan at Sunderland from RB Leipzig, just wasn’t available that late in the window. By Sunday night, Liverpool had let it go and moved on.
Instead, they reached a £60 million deal with Rennes for 20-year-old Jeremy Jacquet on Monday. They beat Chelsea to him, too. Slot’s thrilled about the young Frenchman joining in July, but he admits he wanted help for the rest of the season—especially with Manchester City coming up and Liverpool sitting sixth in the table.
“I’ve said it already—we tried to strengthen the squad. So yes, I wanted players, and honestly, I wasn’t the only one,” Slot said. “But it’s always about who’s available and finding the right fit.
“We talked about what’s best for the club now and for the future. Jacquet wasn’t available for the winter, but he is for the summer. We signed him because we believe he’ll be a great addition for the future. I’m happy with the squad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s obvious we’ve got three guys out long-term—Bradley, Leoni, and Alexander Isak.
“That’s why we tried to strengthen in January. Geertruida just wasn’t available, but we made the effort. That should tell you we thought it would have helped. Still, we’re not going to sign players who aren’t good enough for Liverpool.”
Slot would’ve liked more options going into May, but he gets how things work at Anfield. “I’ve always worked the same way,” he said. “I want what’s best for the club. Sure, sometimes a player or even I might want something else, but the club comes first—even if that’s not ideal for me right now. I knew what I was getting into; Liverpool likes signing younger, talented players.
“I like that approach, too. And honestly, I’m the head coach, not the manager, and I prefer it. There’s so much work as head coach alone—I can’t imagine doing both jobs. I don’t have time to watch ten live games of a new player. If I tried, I wouldn’t be able to do my actual job.”
FINANCIAL EXPERTS PREDICT £120M HIT IF LIVERPOOL MISS 2026-27 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT
Liverpool face a £120m disaster: Read about the Champions League race, Arne Slot’s anger, and the impact of the £400m summer spend.
Liverpool’s in a tight spot right now. After losing to Wolves at Molineux, they’re clinging to fifth place, usually good enough for a Champions League spot, but the cushion isn’t exactly comfortable. They’re just three points ahead of Chelsea, who still have a game in hand against Aston Villa. That race is heating up fast.
Virgil van Dijk summed it up pretty well: “Either we get it, and we deserve it, or we don’t get it, and we don’t deserve it. If you play for Liverpool, it’s always been like this. It’s down to us, together with our fans, to get the results we need to get into the Champions League.” He also mentioned that Arne Slot, the head coach, wasn’t exactly thrilled after the loss; “angry” was the word he used.
But it’s not just about pride or missing out on big European nights. There’s a lot of money on the line. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire pointed out that missing out on the Champions League could leave a big dent in Liverpool’s bank account, even if the club runs pretty sensibly these days.
UEFA’s numbers tell the story. Liverpool earned €98.1 million (£85.3 million/$114 million) just for reaching the last 16 of the 2024–25 Champions League. Compare that to the Europa League, where they only received €26.8 million (£23.3 million/$31.1 million) for reaching the quarterfinals last season. The gap is massive.
Even winning the lesser European trophies doesn’t come close. Tottenham got €41.4 million (£36 million/$48.1 million) for winning the Europa League, and Chelsea picked up €21.8 million (£20 million/$26.7 million) for the Conference League. It’s nowhere near what Champions League teams bring home.
Maguire also pointed out the other hits: fewer home match days, less broadcast cash, and sponsors that pay out less when the club misses the top tier. He reckons missing out could cost Liverpool around £120 million ($160 million). Still, he doesn’t think it’ll sink the club.
And it’s not like Liverpool have been shy about spending. Last summer alone, they shelled out more than £400 million ($534.5 million) on big names like Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak – the biggest single-window spend in football history, actually.
Even with all that, Liverpool just reported record revenues of £703 million ($939 million) for the year ending May 2025, turning a modest £8 million ($10.7 million) profit. And here’s the kicker: despite that wild summer, Liverpool ranks only eighth in net transfer spend over the past five years. They’ve been splashing the cash, sure, but they’ve kept things balanced in the long run.
WHAT’S MISSING? WHY 16 GOALS AND 6 ASSISTS AREN'T ENOUGH FOR HUGO EKITIKE
Liverpool's top scorer Hugo Ekitike reflects on a massive win at Anfield and explains why he’s still hungry for more goals.
Hugo Ekitike isn’t exactly thrilled with his goal tally for Liverpool this season, even though he’s still leading the pack as the club’s top scorer.
He got his 16th goal of the season on Saturday, kicking things off in Liverpool’s 5-2 win over West Ham at Anfield. Not bad for his debut year. Plus, the 23-year-old, who came over from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer for up to £79 million, set up two more goals for Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo. That puts him at 22 goal involvements so far.
Still, Ekitike thinks he’s got a lot more to give. He missed solid chances against Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, and Manchester City recently, and that’s still bugging him.
“To be honest, I could score more,” he said. “I’m not that happy! But it’s not just about goals; it’s assists too. On Saturday, I set up one or two. As long as I’m helping the team and being involved, that’s what really matters. I want to win, so in that way, I’m happy.
“Obviously, I can improve. I could’ve scored in those last games; I had some good chances. So I’ll keep working. I want to be the best I can for the team, because I know I can do more.
“It’s all about learning and getting better. I’ll try to step it up in the next games, score more, and get involved even more.”
His goal against West Ham came after Liverpool kept the pressure on from a corner. Four of their goals that day came straight from, or just after, set pieces.
“We had some problems at the start of the season,” Ekitike said about Liverpool’s set-piece struggles. “We’ve all talked about it and worked on it together in training. It’s great to see it paying off now. We deserved it; honestly, we’ve put a lot of work into this.”
Saturday was the first of seven huge games in just over three weeks. Liverpool were up 3-0 at halftime, but West Ham didn’t just roll over; they made Liverpool work for it in the second half, fighting to stay out of the relegation zone.
Talking to liverpoolfc.com, Ekitike said, “Scoring early in games like that helps, for the team and for the fans. You feel more confident. And going in at halftime 3-0 up, that’s always good.
“But they showed it’s not over till it’s over, they fought back, and we let a couple in. When that happens, you have to score more, and we did. We got five.
“We’ve got to keep going, because there’s a long way left in the season. But yeah, I’m really happy. That win mattered.”
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