Arne Slot insists player contract situations aren’t a distraction as Liverpool look to extend their impressive start to the season.
There’s ongoing uncertainty over the futures of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and captain Virgil van Dijk, who have all entered the final year of their current deals.
Slot said: “It is again the boring answer you will get from me as long as there’s no news on it — we don’t talk about contract situations over here.
“Is it a distraction? No, because I am fully focused on the individuals and the team. They are part of the team and I am trying to work with them in the best possible way to get the best out of them. It is not a distraction for me at all.”
Curtis Jones is fit to return to the squad for Saturday’s home clash with Nottingham Forest, but Harvey Elliott will be sidelined for at least a month with a fractured foot.
Slot eased concerns over midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who was hampered by a groin issue on international duty with Argentina. The Liverpool head coach must also decide whether new signing Federico Chiesa has built up his fitness levels sufficiently to make the bench.
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“Federico has trained with the team now three or four times so let’s see how he does today and which decision I make,” Slot added.
“Harvey is of course a big disappointment. Okay, he didn’t play that much in the first three games but he played a lot in pre-season and he showed himself really well. If he had stayed fit he would have had a lot of playing time in the upcoming fixtures. But now he isn’t fit and that gives the chance to someone else.
“Macca trained with us yesterday and I’m expecting him to be with us tomorrow.”
Saturday marks the start of a run of seven games in the space of three weeks prior to the October international break.
Asked if he would have to rotate after keeping a settled side so far, Slot added: “My former teams were able to play almost every game with the same players but it is a different league so I might have to adjust to that. It also depends on what they show physically.
“In the first three games we were really strong in terms of physique with one game a week and now they have a point to prove.
“I assume they all want to play every time so they have to show up every time in terms of quality but also in work rate. We have more than 11 very good players so I can use more. I will decide that before every game with feedback from the medical and performance staff.”
(Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
