Arne Slot warns Liverpool must adapt and bring something different

In expensive summer arrival Florian Wirtz, Arne Slot hopes he has added something new to the Liverpool mix

Florian Wirtz of Liverpool during the friendly with Athletic Club Bilbao (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Arne Slot has told his Liverpool players to get used to having a target on their back as they look to replicate their Premier League dominance of last season.

Slot's side launch the defence of the crown they claimed with such distinction and authority in May with a tricky-looking visit by Bournemouth in the top flight's season curtain-raiser.

Friday's Anfield date is followed by fixtures against Newcastle and Arsenal in a testing start to the campaign which will give the Merseyside club an early indication of their credentials to repeat last season's success. It goes without saying that Diogo Jota will never be too far from their thoughts as they embark on a first season without their tragic team-mate.

Slot's squad has seen several incomings and outgoings, and the Liverpool head coach admits how quickly his latest arrivals adapt to the unique rigours of the Premier League will be key in the bid to repeat their impressive 2024-25 campaign, when they had lost just one league game going into April as the Dutchman lifted the title at the first attempt having succeeded Jurgen Klopp.

"Everyone has room for growth, especially when you’ve lost five or six players who played a lot of minutes last season," Slot said: "We've brought in four new ones, so there’s a bit of adaptation going on, but we're definitely ready to start.

"We've lost many starters, and we have brought in very good, intelligent players. The challenge is not always with yourself but with the teams you face. Bournemouth were probably the most intense team in the league last season in terms of running and playing style. After that is Newcastle and Arsenal, so that sums up this league and the challenge we have."

Other than the financially-steroided Manchester City, Manchester United are the last club to successfully defend a Premier League title some 16 years ago. Slot added: "We have to improve because our competitors, I assume, have become better because they have only brought in additions and no-one left these clubs. You would expect them to be better this season so we need to be better as well."

Slot believes coping with the physical demands of the league will be the biggest challenge faced by Florian Wirtz as the club's highest-profile summer acquisition looks to impress in his first taste of English domestic football.

The sublimely-skilled German has performed impressively during pre-season with his new club following a £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen but Slot concedes the acid test is whether Wirtz can continue to showcase his quality consistently over the course of an arduous season.

Asked if the 23-year-old's arrival can take his new club to the next level, the Dutchman replied: "That's something I can only answer in the upcoming years. Everything we expect is very positive but between expecting and realising something is different.

"Why are [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and Mo [Salah] so highly regarded? Because they are always fit. Every single game they are fit and that is something that Florian first has to show in a league like ours.

"Our fans will see great moments if he is able to stay to fit."

Slot is confident that a fit and firing Wirtz can bring an entirely new dynamic to Liverpool this season. He added: "He's a different profile to what we have. He might be a bit similar to Harvey [Elliott], but Harvey didn't play that much.

"He's a different profile to Ryan [Gravenberch], Macca (Alexis Mac Allister), Dom [Szoboszlai], Curtis [Jones]. That is what we wanted - to bring a different profile in rather than adding something that we already had.

"It's very positive that we could bring in such a highly regarded player but I think Liverpool has always been able to bring in these kinds of players."

A significantly-changed Bournemouth squad arrive at Anfield as very much an unknown quantity. Liverpool themselves are expected to add to their roster before the transfer window closes on September 1, although Slot wouldn't be drawn on the club's on-going pursuit of Newcastle forward Alexander Isak and Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.

On Guehi, Slot would only say: "I will give you the answer you always get from me. Can I talk more? No, because he's not our player. Unfortunately he was the captain of the team we lost to in the Community Shield last Sunday. If you want to have talks about him, you could go to Palace. Ask their head coach Oliver Glasner about him."

Guehi and Isak would set Liverpool back a combined £175m, in addition to the eye-watering quarter of a billion pounds the club has already invested in playing talent this summer. Slot added: "We're just focussed on the Bournemouth game. Last season we had so many games that were decided by small margins so we know we must fight every single time for those small margins again.

"That's what I want to see the players doing in every single game we play this season."