A full roundup with Will Rooney of LiverpoolWorld.com
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00:00So, Will, let's start with Liverpool and a bit of a transfer situation update.
00:05Obviously, we've mentioned a few times, a few deals have come in.
00:09The likes of Darwin Nunes, there's obviously been interest around Salah.
00:12There's obviously been also on top of that, the sort of contract situation
00:16with three big hitters all out of contract come the end of the season.
00:20What's the latest you can tell us in terms of Liverpool's situation?
00:24How are the fans feeling about how this month's panned out?
00:27Because obviously, you're not long left until this winter window closes
00:31and there aren't been many deals done at Anfield.
00:35Yeah, I don't think it's a surprise to be honest with you.
00:38I think Arnold Slott set a stall out quite early that he was happy with his squad.
00:44He said it in the summer and he's reaffirmed that,
00:49why would he change his mind now when Liverpool are top of the table,
00:52top of the Champions League?
00:56So, it's been expected that it's been a slow window.
00:59Liverpool never go out and make wholesale changes.
01:02They don't need to make wholesale changes to the squad to say that
01:05they're in a position that they couldn't imagine.
01:09I still think, you know, the line is that if a deal maybe comes up
01:14that they think is good business, they'll react to that.
01:18Like they did in summer with Man Utd, really like they have in previous January windows.
01:23Yeah, I don't think there will be any big hit signs arriving.
01:31And by the same token, I don't see anyone leaving the club in January as well.
01:35You say, it's been a little bit about Nunes, Saudi Arabia,
01:39would Diogo Jotas have an injury issue?
01:42Liverpool can't afford to let him go anyway.
01:44And in the middle of a final four fronts, why would he let Nunes go?
01:48Because he shows at Brentford that he still has massive value to the team.
01:53Maybe it might be from the start all of the time,
01:56but he shows he can come on and make an impact.
01:59Salah's not going to be going anywhere, certainly not.
02:02Neither will the likes of Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold.
02:07Alexander-Arnold is obviously the one that has the interest from Real Madrid,
02:12but I don't think that will happen.
02:15Will any other players, maybe youngsters, go out on loan now?
02:20I think one that supports the look on that is Jadon Danes,
02:23who scores against Atherton in the FA Cup.
02:25He's over an injury issue now.
02:29But with Diogo Jota out now for a couple of weeks,
02:32can Liverpool afford to allow him to leave?
02:35Because he is well-rated at the club.
02:39And he adds something else to the forward line, really.
02:44Can he come on in cup games?
02:46Maybe that's a plymouth in the FA Cup and make an impact there.
02:50So, yes, as I say, I don't think we've all known
02:52it's not going to be a massive January window for Liverpool.
02:56It wouldn't be a surprise if nobody comes in and only a couple go out.
03:02Looking at Liverpool and Arnish Slots Group,
03:04obviously we've mentioned the sort of rise, the progression,
03:07their top of the Premier League, a game in hand, a few points,
03:12that gap to second as well and top of the Champions League.
03:14They've been pretty much flawless all season,
03:18albeit Nottingham Forest stealing four points from them.
03:22I mean, just sort of look back at the impact Arnish Slots had
03:27and maybe do they have the ingredients for this full-on title push
03:31and maybe even to go further in the Champions League as well?
03:34Can you see them maybe reaching that Champions League final
03:37or getting to those real latter stages of that?
03:41And also, were fans expecting this sort of rise to happen so quickly?
03:45Obviously, an incredible period under Jurgen Klopp.
03:48He comes in and it's absolutely fantastic to see where Liverpool are right now.
03:53They're in an amazing position as we head into this sort of running
03:57come the end of the season.
03:59Yeah, they are. I don't think anyone quite expected it.
04:03With Arnish Slot coming in, no-one knew what was going to happen.
04:07If you'd have asked a lot of fans,
04:09look, you'll finish third again
04:11and you might challenge for a domestic trophy,
04:14I think a lot of supporters would have probably taken that
04:18because it was so unknown,
04:20changing from who many people regard as the second-best manager in the world
04:26and someone of an unknown quantity coming in.
04:29But it's been an incredible season so far.
04:33Just in terms of the Champions League,
04:36well, it's funny because Arnish Slot was speaking about that
04:39at his pre-Lille press conference at the top of the table,
04:42but it doesn't necessarily mean they could have a favourable draw
04:45because you look at Manchester City and say PSG,
04:48who were battling to finish in the top 24,
04:51it's a new format that has made it more difficult now.
04:56So it might depend on the luck of a draw,
04:58but in terms of the ingredients,
05:02you're probably looking at the squad thinking,
05:04as things stand, the injury situation is very healthy,
05:08only Diogo Dias and Diogo Gomes out.
05:11The one maybe question that some supporters are having
05:15is are some of these players going to get a little bit burnt out
05:18to say the likes of Ryan Gravenberg,
05:20who's started to date every Premier League and Champions League game,
05:25which is a lot of football for someone who's 22.
05:30Alexis McAllister has played so much
05:34just for Argentina as well,
05:35when you add in all that travel and Virgil van Dijk
05:38has been, he's 33 now,
05:42he's recently come back from an injury
05:44and has admitted he's playing with painkillers.
05:46That's the only doubt.
05:47Is the squad a little bit thin?
05:50I think if there was an extra midfielder,
05:53I don't think fans would be concerned,
05:55but Arnish Slot seems happy.
05:57There haven't been many real long-term injuries this season,
06:00so that's a positive.
06:02He seems to have a grip on that.
06:04Looking at Everton and David Moyes coming in,
06:07in terms of the transfer situation,
06:10obviously a bit of an interesting one,
06:12changing manager halfway through the month almost.
06:15What's your take on the current transfer situation?
06:19Are fans expecting any business in or out?
06:22We've mentioned a few times positions that might have been filled,
06:25but that performance against Spurs at home was absolutely fantastic.
06:29So it's sort of cut those worries out maybe for fans for now,
06:33for the time being.
06:34But obviously a big run in left,
06:36they are still just hovering above the relegation zone.
06:39They need to make sure that they continue this little run
06:42and don't fall back towards the bottom three.
06:46Yes, definitely.
06:47David Moyes said after the Tottenham game
06:50for his goals to win,
06:51whilst he wasn't getting carried away,
06:53he still knows that Everton need players through the door
06:57because Stilton scored 18 league goals in 21 games
07:01and that's the second fewest,
07:03just in front of Southampton,
07:05who are obviously in deep, deep trouble.
07:10A lot of supporters still want to see intact improvements.
07:13Almanzo Breaux is just now out for three months.
07:17Yousef Chimithy's absence as well,
07:19so that leaves two strikers.
07:21Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored a great goal against Tottenham,
07:24but it was his first in September.
07:26As well as Jesper Lindström's against Tottenham,
07:29he still hasn't been absolutely consistent since he arrived.
07:35In the midfield, is there enough goals in there?
07:38Is there enough threat from the full-backs?
07:41It's an interesting one because we speak to less than two weeks now.
07:47David Moyes has said that Everton need players,
07:50elite players from the elite stadium that they're moving to,
07:54but they also need recruits coming in
07:56who are going to make an instant impact.
08:00Moyes' command said they like Ernest Neumar at Lyon,
08:04but he's off the profile of a development side
08:07and he couldn't come in and go right.
08:09You're our new right winger.
08:11We're expecting five goals and five assists from you
08:13in the second half of the season.
08:15It wouldn't be fair on the lads to start with,
08:18and you can't get a guarantee.
08:20It's a difficult market Everton are working in.
08:23They have got some wiggle room with the PSR,
08:26but what sort of players do they sign?
08:28Do they want development ones?
08:30Do they want younger players who will give their all?
08:34I think whoever Everton sign,
08:36there's going to be one fault to them,
08:39whether that's if it's a younger player,
08:41whether it's an older player,
08:43but maybe has a couple of injuries in the past,
08:46or maybe has a bit of an attitude problem in the past per se.
08:50It's not straightforward.
08:52I think David Moyes and the recruitment team
08:55have got to weigh everything up
08:57when it comes to who they're bringing in
08:59and decide what would be best.
09:01The task the players need is maybe midfield
09:04and the full-back area, the left-back area,
09:07somewhere they could look at.
09:09Just looking at David Moyes' appointment,
09:11obviously coming back,
09:13you mentioned it's a 2.0 of David Moyes.
09:16He's got a big job on his hands
09:19and he's really certain of signing
09:21that longer extended contract
09:23to make sure it's not just a survival job.
09:25It's something they want to build on in the future
09:28and he wants to have another great crack
09:30at going with Everton's managerial role.
09:33What's the biggest changes he's had so far?
09:36The obvious ones being the morale inside the camp
09:40and inside of Goodison.
09:42They seem a bit more confident to have him back
09:45and a bit more stability maybe
09:47than under Sean Dyche.
09:49In terms of all round,
09:51what's the biggest changes he's made so far
09:53and can you see these changes sticking
09:55and having a good impact on Everton?
09:57I think in the two games he's been in charge.
10:00He's wanted to play a little bit more football.
10:04Sean Dyche, we know his style,
10:06it's a game of percentages.
10:10Since Aston Villa, the 1-0 defeat,
10:13there wasn't much in it to be fair.
10:16He was punished by a good counter-attack
10:18but when you looked at all the stats of the game,
10:20the game was quite close.
10:22Everton showed a few improvements on that.
10:25They started trying to play around
10:27from the back a little bit more
10:29and that's what happened against Tottenham.
10:32They looked more comfortable
10:34knocking it around, playing it about.
10:39The players looked like they enjoyed it as well.
10:42He looks like he's rejuvenated as a player
10:45like Jesper Lindström who has a really good game
10:47against Tottenham on the right flank.
10:50He struggled under Sean Dyche.
10:52He didn't look like a Sean Dyche player whatsoever
10:54but maybe he's someone who can benefit.
10:57Dominic Calvert-Lewin's getting more chances now.
11:00That was the trouble for as long as his baron streak went on.
11:05He went and got a lot of goalscoring chances.
11:07It was a bit of a flankless task for him,
11:09running the channels up top, isolated.
11:11An interesting move that he made against Tottenham
11:14was Hans and Jake O'Brien,
11:16his full Premier League debut.
11:18He came in from Lyon in the summer
11:20for a fee of £16 million.
11:22He had limited chances.
11:24He is a centre-back by trade
11:26and I think he maybe understands
11:28that Everton's centre-back pair
11:30and James Sarkozy and Jared Bramford
11:32are pretty much certainties to start.
11:35He would have hoped for more chances
11:37but it was interesting that he was bullied
11:40as a right-back against Aston Villa
11:42was a little bit more attacking.
11:46He looks like he maybe has benefits as well.
11:49He struggled certainly under Dyche this season.
11:52Plenty to build from
11:54but it's all about results now.
11:56Everton need to get results
11:58and just get out of that relegation bath.