Arne Slot Rules on Liverpool January Transfer Plan After Alexander Isak Injury

Slot also teased a returning player from injury to help cover for Isak.

Arne Slot has ruled out one option for Liverpool this winter. / Fabrizio Carabelli/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Liverpool manager Arne Slot brushed aside the prospect of a recall for Harvey Elliott to fill the void left by Alexander Isak’s serious injury.

Despite the most extravagant outlay in football history, the Reds are still short upfront. The sales of Darwin Núñez and Luis Díaz followed the tragic passing of Diogo Jota this summer.

£415 million ($560.6 million) bought Liverpool Hugo Ekitiké and Isak to fill the frontline, although that still left one slot vacant. A broken leg for Isak is set to keep the record-breaking recruit sidelined for at least two months, weakening Slot’s options further. As the January window looms, the cost-effective option of recalling Elliott from his disastrous Aston Villa loan spell has been floated.

Isak Injury Progress. Progress, Potential Return Date for Liverpool Star. dark. Alexander Isak Injury

The England hopeful has endured a desperate four months in the Midlands. Signed on loan with an obligation to buy worth £35 million in the event that he makes 10 Premier League appearances, Elliott has only amassed three, the last of which came in September.

Earlier this month, Villa boss Unai Emery revealed that the club are in discussion with Elliott to find “a solution” to this sticky situation. “He is on loan playing with us, but he is not definitely adding to us with a permanent contract,” the Spanish boss declared.

Harvey Elliott’s future is up in the air. / Michael Regan/Getty Images

“Hopefully we can get the best for him and the best for us. I respect him as a player and as a person. He is training well, but we have one circumstance with him. Hopefully we can get a solution for him to try to play consistently and try to continue in his career with us or not.”

Liverpool reportedly included sell-on and buy-back clauses in Elliott’s exit but there is not thought to be any option to unilaterally trigger a recall for the midfielder. Slot certainly downplayed that idea this week.

“Harvey is an Aston Villa player,” the Liverpool manager pointed out. “He is supposed to be going there for a season. Any questions about him, the best place to ask is at Villa.”

Slot was always distrustful of Elliott during their shared season together on Merseyside. The diminutive playmaker was not called upon to start a single Premier League game until the title had been mathematically sealed in April. Even then, Slot only gave Elliott two starts, both of which Liverpool lost.

---

Slot Not Worried About Liverpool’s Attacking Depth

Cody Gakpo has missed Liverpool’s last three fixtures. / Alex Pantling/Getty Images

When immediately faced with questions about January’s transfer window, Slot pointed firmly at the fixtures Liverpool still have to navigate in 2025. “My first and only thoughts are on the upcoming two games,” the Dutch boss insisted, looking ahead to Saturday’s clash with rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers before a visit from Leeds United on New Year’s Day.

“Two difficult ones and two home games, which is really nice. It’s time for the players who are available to do what they’ve done many times, which is roll their sleeves up and fans as well to help us on the best possible way to get the results we want.”

Cody Gakpo is expected to be one of those available players. The towering winger is set to make his return this weekend after sitting out Liverpool’s last three matches with a muscular injury. Slot also pointed out that Federico Chiesa and Florian Wirtz can fill in on the left wing. However, there will be a gap on the right wing against Wolves as Dominik Szobozlai is suspended and Mohamed Salah is on international duty with Egypt at AFCON.

Ngumoha has made a major impact already this season. / George Wood/Getty Images

Rio Ngumoha could fill that void. The prodigious teenager began the campaign with a stoppage-time winner against Newcastle United and started both of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup ties. However, Ngumoha is yet to be included in the first XI for a Premier League fixture and hasn’t been afforded a cameo since November. Slot, however, is unconcerned about his development.

“For his age, I think he has the most minutes of all 17 year olds in the Premier League,” the Dutch boss correctly claimed. “That tells you how much playing time he gets and how special that is for a 17-year-old. It also tells you about his quality because it’s not completely normal for a 17-year-old to have as much playing time as he has.

“But it tells you about the availability in those areas, but for the weekend, that position is not my biggest concern. Hopefully Cody will be back, Federico and Florian can play there.”

---

READ THE LATEST LIVERPOOL NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS AND MORE

feed