Arne Slot has insisted that he does trust his fringe players, like Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott. The Liverpool pair, along with Wataru Endo, are yet to start a Premier League match this season.
Chiesa and Elliott have made an impact off the bench at least despite their limited game time. Both players caught the eye as substitutes in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle United, combining for Liverpool’s consolation goal.
Slot has been pleased with the pair’s contribution this season. But when addressing their limited minutes on the pitch in comparison to some of their team-mates, he suggested that he just considers others a better fit.
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“But yeah, that is my answer,” he said when it was acknowledged Chiesa and Elliott are competing with Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai. “They (Salah and Szoboszlai) have done well and they have never let the team or the fans or me or their team-mates down.
“They have always shown up and the final wasn’t our best game but I cannot say they didn’t show up but it was not our best game.
“And for all the other games I think no one can say that these players didn’t perform - Szoboszlai, Mo Salah and all the others.
“It is not to say that if you don’t play someone, you don’t trust them. I do. But probably I find the other ones a bit better otherwise I would make a different choice. Or they fit better in the team.
“Mo has certain qualities and Dom has certain qualities and I think these qualities help each other. Whereas with other players, it is a bit more difficult. That is what makes a team. I cannot play with 11 Mo Salahs and I cannot play with 11 Dominik Szoboszlais.”
Meanwhile, Slot also offered an injury update on Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez ahead of Wednesday’s Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield.
Alexander-Arnold is currently absent after suffering an ankle injury while his fellow England international has been sidelined since undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury. Gomez, however, was spotted training individually on the grass at the AXA Training Centre on Monday.
While unable to offer specific return dates for the defensive pair, Slot revealed that both players remain a few weeks away from potential returns.
“Both of them are going to take a few weeks,” he said. “But it is always difficult to say exactly the amount of weeks.
“The last part of a rehab is always the most vulnerable one. Sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less, but it is going to take a few weeks.”
