Eight Liverpool fringe men reassigned to rival PL clubs as Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle United benefit

Arne Slot‘s debut season at Anfield has gone better than anyone could have imagined, with seamless transition post-beloved boss and the declines suffered by Arsenal and Manchester City setting up Liverpool’s comfortable stroll to their 20th Premier League title.

The Dutchman’s successful first year at Liverpool is particularly impressive considering this team is Jurgen Klopp’s, not his, with Federico Chiesa the only player added to his squad this season. A signing of the season award has never been less deserved…

The current Liverpool boss has overcome this issue by getting the best out of his selected favourites. The newly-crowned champions have been fortunate to avoid severe injuries with the same 13/14 standouts consistently called upon, while the rest of his squad (as Jamie Carragher suspects) are not trusted.

On the rare occasion that Liverpool’s back-up players have been given an opportunity (E.g. vs Chelsea and Plymouth Argyle), Slot has been proven right to be dubious of their abilities to live up to his high expectations and some are likely to make way for upgrades as the head coach looks to put his stamp on the squad this summer.

The 3-1 loss to Chelsea will not have forced a change of heart, so we’ve done Slot a favour and reassigned eight stars on the fringes at Anfield to rival Premier League clubs…

Federico Chiesa to Wolves

The Italy international has suffered quite the fall from grace since his heroics at Euro 2020, but he was a low-cost risk worth taking with the £12.5m fee to sign him from Juventus last summer.

Chiesa has impressed in flashes this season to earn the admiration of Liverpool’s supporters, but has not nearly had enough opportunities to establish himself in the Premier League and he desperately needs game time after years of injury woes.

Should he avoid injury, Cheisa remains a useful squad player for Liverpool, but a loan or even permanent exit is the best course for the action-shy winger. While a return to Serie A is far more likely, he’d also get plenty of chances under Vitor Pereira to potentially fill the star player void left by Matheus Cunha.

Harvey Elliott to Brighton & Hove Albion

Another Reds star marred by injury, Elliott has been among the worst impacted by Slot’s arrival, with his number of minutes decreasing significantly compared to last season.

Elliott is an immensely talented footballer and as he showcased against PSG, he can produce on the grand occasion. As a boyhood Liverpool supporter, he’ll be more desperate than most for this spell to work, but it is looking increasingly clear that an exit could be the right thing for all parties.

A transfer to Brighton or Borussia Dortmund was mooted in January and he would fit nicely into Fabian Hurzeler’s midfield, while Liverpool would be suitably recompensed for cashing in on the £50m-rated star with plenty to offer and a point to prove.

Wataru Endo to Burnley

Comfortably the fourth-best signing of Liverpool’s 2023 midfield overhaul, Endo has been steady but unremarkable over the past two seasons and he’s not trusted to have anything more than brief cameos off the bench to help Slot’s side see out games.

The £16m signing was never going to fill the void left by Fabinho, but he’s been a reliable presence and his versatility has been useful, albeit while being massively overshadowed by a transformed Ryan Gravenberch this season.

Liverpool should replace Endo with a more technically gifted alternative to play second-fiddle to Gravenberch. Still, the 32-year-old should not have much trouble getting a move to a Premier League club that will defend more than attack next season and Scott Parker’s clean sheet machines would be wise to snap him up.

following their successful January window.

Caoimhin Kelleher to Chelsea

Robert Sanchez’s positive stats suggest he’s having a good season, but the numbers do not tell the whole story as the Chelsea No.1 has deservedly been slammed by onlookers this season, so the Big Six side needs a new goalkeeper as much as a striker.

His form has improved of late and he produced one of his better performances of the season against Liverpool, but a club of Chelsea’s calibre require someone better between the sticks and their reported interest in Kelleher makes a lot of sense

The Republic of Ireland international is among the best No.2s in the Premier League, but he’s never going to be Liverpool’s first-choice with Alisson Becker and Giorgi Mamardashvili set to be preferred by Slot next season.

Kelleher has openly stated that he is ready to be a No.1 and he’d start for most Premier League clubs, with his reported £35m fee representing good value for potential buyers this summer.

READ: Alexander-Arnold replacements ranked as Real Madrid-bound star confirms Liverpool exit

Darwin Nunez to Arsenal

Liverpool’s hierarchy will regret not going over Klopp’s head with Nunez, who was the former manager’s last major miss in the transfer market after the enigmatic striker was handpicked despite a clear data warning.

The word ‘erratic’ doesn’t do Nunez justice as he’s frustrated the life out of Liverpool’s supporters, with the relationship between player and club not helped by his brainless outbursts on social media.

Under the right manager and club set-up, Nunez could be a huge asset. But this will not be the case at Liverpool as he remains on the exit ramp after FSG snubbed interest from the Saudi Pro League in January.

A move to the Middle East presumably remains on the cards, but Arsenal have also been linked amid their desperate need to sign a new striker and they apparently should take the ‘chaotic’ forward in a heartbeat.

Jarell Quansah to Newcastle United

This season looked set to be massive for Quansah after his breakout campaign in Klopp’s final year, but it’s been downhill for the centre-back since he was hooked at half-time on the opening day against Ipswich Town.

The supreme form of Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate have limited Quansah’s opportunities as he’s been ushered to right-back before his difficult afternoon at Stamford Bridge added to a disappointing season for the up-and-coming defender.

There’s still time for Quansah to reach his full potential, but this could be away from Liverpool, with the champions likely to cash in on him or Gomez to fund their rebuild.

The potential of a pure profit sale with Quansah could be tempting and interest in the 22-year-old is more likely than Gomez, given the latter’s aforementioned issues, and Newcastle remain heavily interested with a centre-back a priority after they failed to land Marc Guehi last summer

Kostas Tsimikas to Leeds United

Tsimikas is another Reds star who looks to be on borrowed time at Anfield as it’s clear that he is not good enough to be Liverpool’s next first choice at left-back.

With Andy Robertson’s best days behind him, Liverpool’s priority is to sign a left-back with Milos Kerkez a preferred candidate, and the arrival of the Bournemouth star (or an alternative) would seal Tsimikas’ fate.

The Greek international is not up to the necessary standard to start each week for Liverpool, but he’d be a solid signing for most sides in the bottom half of the Premier League and Championship winners Leeds United could do worse than sign him to replace exit-bound Junior Firpo.