Arne Slot refused to be drawn on speculation continuing to link Liverpool with a big-money move for Newcastle forward Alexander Isak as he declared himself happy with his current squad.
The Premier League champions have invested huge sums in the market this summer with a club-record deal for midfielder Florian Wirtz headlining a group of new signings that also includes forward Hugo Ekitike, left-back Milos Kerkez and right-back Jeremie Frimpong.
But they have continued to pursue Isak, having an initial bid of £110million rejected by Newcastle, as they seek a replacement for Darwin Nunez who is closing in on a £46million move to Saudi club Al Hilal.
Asked about Isak on Friday, Slot said: “As you know, from me and I think every manager works like this, you never talk about players that are not yours. I can talk about Hugo, who we have signed and who has done really well until now.
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“We are very happy with the squad and have every reason to be happy because we won the league last season. OK, players left but we brought players in as well and youngsters are doing good.
“At this moment of time, Darwin might leave, indeed, but things are not signed so we need to wait a few days until that is completely done but there is indeed a chance he is going to leave.”
Liverpool’s spending spree – at almost £300million – has not included a central defender despite the sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.
During pre-season midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo, as well as full-backs Andrew Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas, have all filled in, and Slot denied that a lack of depth behind Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez is a major concern.
“Unfortunately, (Gomez) has a minor injury at the moment but he will be back with the team very soon,” he said.
“We have numerous options who can play there. But as always, it’s the same boring answer as players we may bring in or not, I am really happy with the players we have.”
While new signings have been bedded in, one player who has grabbed the limelight during pre-season has been 16-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha, who has recorded three goals and two assists this summer with some eye-catching displays – the most recent coming against Athletic Bilbao on Monday.
Slot knows he must handle Ngumoha’s development with care, but he looks ready to be part of the first-team squad.
“That is sometimes also difficult and you never know how an individual handles the situation,” he said.
“A year ago, Trey Nyoni scored a goal against Sevilla when he was 17, very young. They have an incredible chance to work and be around players like Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and all these incredible players every day and see what they do to be ready to perform every three days…
“It’s been a promising start for him and Trey Nyoni because Trey also played a very good game at Anfield four days ago.”
