Arne Slot makes tongue-in-cheek comment about Liverpool-linked 24y/o who’s now joined EPL rivals
Arne Slot’s affable nature came across in a tongue-in-cheek comment that he made about one player who’s recently been linked with Liverpool but won’t be joining the Reds this summer.
LFC were reportedly among several Premier League clubs to have shown an interest in Mats Wieffer, who completed a transfer to Brighton on Friday.
The 45-year-old had the midfielder in his squad at Feyenoord, although he admitted that he didn’t actively pursue the player upon taking over at Anfield last month.
Speaking to Viaplay (via 1908.nl), Slot said: “No, I have not spoken to Mats [to sign for Liverpool]. I think it is very nice to meet him, but I hope he doesn’t want to prove too much to his old coach!”
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It’s a shame that Liverpool’s apparent interest in Wieffer didn’t seem to be followed up, as the 24-year-old could’ve been an ideal addition to our midfield ranks.
As per FBref, he ranks highly for numberous performance metrics compared to positional peers in Europe over the past 12 months, notably featuring among the top 1% for blocks and aerial duels won per match, and the top 5% for non-penalty xG, the top 6% for progressive passes and the top 7% for interceptions per game.
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Slot has even said that the ex-Feyenoord player could become the world’s best, having overseen his development and viewed his talents up close, and it duly seems a little surprising that the Reds didn’t pursue him strongly in recent weeks.
Perhaps the Liverpool boss didn’t quite view Wieffer as someone he was desperate to bring in at Anfield, or maybe the focus is on other parts of the squad which need strenghtening during the summer transfer window.
Hopefully the 24-year-old won’t come back to haunt his former coach when we meet Brighton in November and May.
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