Arne Slot has discussed facing former Liverpool players Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg this weekend as the Reds take on Brentford.
Carvalho and Van den Berg are set for instant returns to Anfield on Sunday afternoon, as the new Brentford recruits face off against their former team.
The duo departed Liverpool this summer in search of regular first-team football, having failed to earn a place in Slot’s plans for the campaign.
Carvalho made his debut in Brentford’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on the opening weekend, while Van den Berg could make his first appearance for the Bees against Liverpool, after completing his £25m move to West London on Thursday.
Slot said Brentford have signed two ‘talented players’ and believes the deals were good for all parties.
“I think they’ve brought in talented and good players. Both of them wanted to continue their journey of playing time and I think they were able to play for us,” Slot said at his pre-match press conference.
“It was a good deal for us and Brentford. Hopefully they don’t do too well (against Liverpool). Thomas Frank is doing a really good job. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”
Slot also discussed Joe Gomez’s situation after the defender was left out of the squad to face Ipswich last weekend. Gomez is another who has been linked with an exit in search of more minutes, with Newcastle, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace among those linked.
The Liverpool boss suggested the 27-year-old remains a part of his plans, however, and said Gomez has been given additional time off after Euro 2024.
“He’s been in the right place for three weeks. He’s worked really hard since he came back. He didn’t play a lot in the Euros, we had to manage his load, that’s why he wasn’t in the team last week. This week he had a good week in terms of load. He’s one of the players I see new things from.”
