Liverpool’s manager, Arne Slot, has announced his intention to rotate the squad for the remaining four matches of the Premier League season.
The Reds were crowned champions with four games to spare after spanking Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at Anfield last Sunday, sparking scenes of wild celebrations on Merseyside.
Slot became just the fifth manager to win the Premier League title at the first time of asking – Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini and Antonio Conte the other four – and can now take stock ahead of what promises to be a summer of change at the club.
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are staying put after signing new two-year contracts, but Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to join Real Madrid and Darwin Nunez is another tipped for the exit door after another season of inconsistency.
Fringe players, such as Harvey Elliott, have also seen their opportunities limited this season by Slot, largely thanks to the continued good form of Liverpool’s starting 11.
But the time is now, the former Feyenoord boss admitted in his latest press conference, to shake things up a little now that the pressure is off.
“It’s the end of the season, but we also have to look at this as the start of next season already,” Slot remarked.
“There will be a certain rotation in the upcoming games. My lineups will be different towards the one we’ve had mostly during the last ten months.
We’re not gonna change everyone but there will be a few players that come into the team.
“That’s not to say that we’re going to lose them. We have a lot of trust in the players we are going to play now.
I think some of them deserved to play already earlier this season, because they trained so well and they are good enough to play for this club, but I mainly chose the same players.
“This is also a moment to see where they are, also looking towards next season, maybe a bit already, but definitely also because they deserve to play.”