Liverpool manager Arne Slot has said he does not understand the logic that teams cannot strengthen without transfers.
Liverpool begin their Premier League campaign at Ipswich Town on Saturday lunchtime and will do so with continuity in their ranks.
The Reds are the only team in the Premier League to have not made a first-team signing so far this summer, with the first recruit of Slot’s tenure still to be decided.
Liverpool’s lack of signings has led to question marks over their credentials this season, though Slot has refuted suggestions that his team cannot improve without fresh faces. Slot said work on the training ground is equally as important as bringing in new arrivals.
“If you don’t strengthen the team then you become weaker? I don’t understand that,” Slot said at his pre-match press conference.
“You can help the player on the training ground to improve. It’s not always true that the team becomes stronger if you bring in new players.”
Slot also shut down suggestions that Luis Diaz could leave Liverpool this summer. Reports this week said the Colombia international had agreed terms over a potential transfer to Premier League rivals Manchester City. Slot, however, has insisted the rumours are fiction.
“When I walked in there was Sky Sports News on and they spent all day talking about football. Is there any player they don’t talk about? His future is with us. I like a lot what I’ve seen in the last 10 days he’s been in, and last season too. I hope he has a big impact this season too.”
Liverpool will be Ipswich’s first top-flight opponents in 22 years with The Tractor Boys having returned to the Premier League after consecutive promotions. Despite their inexperience at this level, Slot said he will not be underestimating Kieran McKenna’s side.
“[Preparing is] not harder than if you had to prepare for a team that had been in the Premier League for 22 years. We saw their games from last season and pre-season.
“There’s a lot of positivity around a club like this. People have always told me there are no easy games in the Premier League and this is what we expect tomorrow. We are really looking forward to it.”
