Slot’s Selection Headache: What’s Liverpool’s Best Attacking Three?

Liverpool are back to Premier League action in a few short hours. With the backside of the September International Break in vie, fans can now let out that big exhale and focus on what really matters: the Reds’ chase for their 21st and 7th Premier League and Champions League trophies.

Since the last match before the break took place before Transfer Deadline Day, the trip to Turf Moore also presents the tantalizing possibility of seeing all of Liverpool’s new signings on the pitch. Yes, we’re talking about seeing Alexander Isak.

The Swedish superstar striker completed his dramatic transfer to Liverpool from Newcastle on Deadline Day and so fans are undoubtedly eager to see what Arne Slot’s attack could look like with Isak on the pitch. Caveats, of course, that given the Swede needing to essentially down tools in order to force the move, it would be borderline negligent to throw a player with no true pre-season and whose last meaningful game time came in May right into the starting lineup.

It may even be too much to hope for a 15 minute cameo - especially given how well Hugo Ekitike has started his Liverpool career, with three goals across all comps this season. But hope, especially in the hearts of football fans, springs eternal.

Which means it’s probably more appropriate to project out what is likely Arne Slot’s most interesting selection dilemma: what is Liverpool’s best front three going to look like?

Gakpo-Isak-Salah

This is probably the safe choice, as things stand, for what is expected to be the best attacking line for the Reds. It is a disappointment, I’m sure, for Ekitike, who certainly backs himself to be tough to drop. More, you’ve got Mohamed Salah, on the back of a record setting campaign and already etched into club lore among the top tier of greats. Cody Gakpo’s own consistency on the left means they’re incredibly tough to drop. Given the lack of depth on that wing with only Rio Ngumoha as a true left winger on the squad, it’s most likely that we get Ekitike and Isak onto the pitch by dropping the Dutchman. Which brings us to…

Ekitike-Isak-Salah

I would imagine this is the dream attacking scenario for fans - and maybe Florian Wirtz - given that it puts both Ekitike and Isak into the mix while leaving Salah on the pitch. A question here would be whether or not the club is getting the most out of Ekitike by playing him wide and/or if the club will have enough presence in the box, given that both Ekitike and Isak tend to come towards the ball and don’t necessarily play as target or off-the-shoulder strikers. Not that Isak nor Ekitike are incapable of doing the latter; both have the pace to be able to run into channels and beat defenders to well-placed and timed passes.

Gakpo-Isak-Ekitike

I’m calling this the AFCON attack. It’s also a pipe dream - Ekitke’s not had any time on the right that I could confirm through a very cursory look online. But given how comfortable he’s looked on the ball with either foot and Slot has often used Mo as a creator, I can see some potential in terms of transferrable skills. I’d say it’s much more likely to see Chiesa step in while Mo’s out, but it could be telling of Slot’s plans for a post-Salah reality if we see some shifting during AFCON, including any tweaks to the base formation.

It’s entirely plausible that we see Slot opt to adopt a two-striker formation, but given the investment in Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, it’s difficult to see a move to such a formation that wouldn’t require a dramatic re-approach to Mo Salah’s deployment. Which is to say, I don’t see a shift to three at the back, for example, any time soon.

These thought experiments are enjoyable in that, for me, the stakes are low; it’s basically trying to talk through aa puzzle. Slot’s job - and the prospects of Liverpool Football club continuing to be a club that challenges on all fronts beyond the Mohamed Salah Era - hinges on his ability to undo this particular knot. It’s the type of problem that is certainly preferable in that having more weapons to choose from - having a selection dilemma at all - is something to aspire to. And for Liverpool, it is wonderful to consider there is now the possibility of high quality rotation at striker, which was a perceived weak spot to many despite the club’s success last year.

We’ll wait to see how Arne approaches this conundrum. In the meantime, we’ll try to enjoy the tantalizing truth that Liverpool’s attacking stable looks set to remain high in quality for the foreseeable future thanks to the club’s big summer. Here’s hoping that the necessary adjustments and appropriate balance in the team is found to ensure that the club can make good on the presumption that this was the best transfer haul this year and, as far as Liverpool are concerned, among the best windows in club history.

0 Comments