As we get closer and closer to the end of the season, it’s becoming clearer to see that Liverpool are on the verge of winning their 20th league title.
If you take one glance at the Premier League odds, you’ll see that the Reds are favoured to continue their strong run of form and get the storybook ending that Arne Slot would’ve hoped for. In his first year as boss, he would’ve done something that took Jurgen Klopp almost five years to accomplish.
With that being said, this hasn’t exactly been the perfect campaign. Far from it, in fact. Whereas in past seasons we saw Liverpool compete for multiple trophies until the bitter end, it does seem as if they’re limping over the finish line following an initially strong start to proceedings.
They lost the League Cup final to Newcastle. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Plymouth. They were dramatically beaten on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Of course, the red half of Merseyside won’t care all too much so long as they can lift that Premier League crown high into the air by the time we reach May. Alas, as we look ahead to a summer without a major international tournament, there are a few reasons why an element of concern could creep in.
Liverpool’s mixed bag of a campaign
The big issue revolves around the future of three of their star players: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Trent already appears to have one foot out of the door, whereas Salah and van Dijk have made it known that they want to stay – but the club hasn’t yet locked them down to long term futures.
All three continue to operate at a high level and will likely do so for at least the next couple of years. Still, Liverpool are hesitant, and fans are concerned that this could have a knock-on effect for their ambitions in 2025/26 and beyond.
Nobody wants to go through a ‘rebuilding’ year, which is what this season was expected to be, but it may be an inevitability that the Reds cannot avoid. Slot has done well to manage his resources, but you could argue that he’ll be more relieved than overjoyed.
That relief comes from rivals Arsenal and Manchester City being unable to keep up in a year where the pair of them have somewhat collapsed in on themselves. For the lads from Anfield, the structure of things behind the scenes – both for the ownership and what’s happening within the squad – will be the focal point of June, July and August.
There’s still football to be played and the Gunners can’t entirely be ruled out of a miraculous comeback but we all know the title race is largely over. So, what’s next?
The answer to that is unclear. The league championship and a big trophy parade will put smiles on faces but in this part of the world, consistency is key, and it’s also expected.
Get ready for an interesting summer, folks.
