One of the big questions facing Arne Slot – if indeed he does replace Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout – is what happens with some of Liverpool’s most long-serving players.
Does the Feyenoord boss, who’s appointment at the Premier League giants is expected to become official imminently, try and eke one more season out of Mo Salah before the Egyptian King gives up his crown in favour of a new palace in Saudi Arabia?
Does Arne Slot put his faith in 30-somethings Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson, or risk a fresh start with younger if less-proven players? HITC understands Slot’s rebuild could be influenced by Feyenoord’s success, with David Hancko, Mats Wieffer and Quinten Timber on the radar.
End of an era as Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool
The future of Liverpool’s third-choice goalkeeper, by contrast, is unlikely to incur quite so many sleepless nights. But Adrian San Miguel is just one of many players facing an uncertain future heading into the first summer post-Klopp.
Speaking to Movistar, via Estadio Deportivo, Adrian has not ruled out signing a new contract with the six-time European champions. But, after over a decade in England, the now-37-year-old shot-stopper is keen to end his career where he began it, with a return to his native Spain clearly Adrian’s ambition.
“I would like to return to La Liga after eleven seasons in the Premier League,” the former West Ham United glovesman explains. “It would be closing a circle.
“I am still ready to compete, I feel very good despite (being) 37. You already know that goalkeepers, if you take good care of yourself (can play for a very long time). The daily training sessions gives you that intensity that, in the end, makes you compete.
“t is true that I would like to return to the Spanish La Liga (with) a nice, interesting project. I haven’t sat down with Liverpool yet either. I don’t rule out that we could have a conversation, but it is true that we will be looking to see what happens with our La Liga goals.”
Adrian, when leaving Real Betis for West Ham back in 2013, was clear in his feeling that this was not a goodbye but more a ‘see you later’. If he does indeed embark on a fresh start away from Liverpool this summer, he will leave with a Premier League winners’ medal one of five pieces of silverware in his luggage.
Celtic want Anfield number two Caoimhin Kelleher
Adrian, however, is not the only Reds goalkeeper facing an uncertain future. Caoimhin Kelleher lost his place in the starting XI to Alisson Becker as soon as the Brazilian returned from injury, and he too has a decision to make.
Regular first-team football will continue to remain fanciful as long as Alisson is at the peak of his powers. HITC, meanwhile, have been informed that Celtic have installed Kelleher as their number one target to replace the retiring Joe Hart, though it remains to be seen if the Scottish Premiership leaders can stump up the sort of fee Liverpool are looking for.
Marcelo Pitaluga, the 21-year-old snapped up from Fluminense in 2020, may be considered for a more senior role at Anfield if Adrian and Kelleher depart. Pitaluga impressed during a loan spell at Macclesfield in the first half of this season, and is now continuing his development in Ireland with St Patrick’s Athletic.
“We didn’t think we’d get him,” Robbie Savage, Macclesfield’s sporting director, recently told the Liverpool Echo. “But Liverpool believed in what we had done.
“The big thing was, at these levels, can a young goalkeeper handle players coming into them? The rough and tumble of non-league? And to be fair, he handled it extremely well.
“He’s a brilliant lad and was magnificent for us. One-v-one, he was brilliant. And he learned a lot in a short amount of time, like when David de Gea come to Britain.
“He adapted and that’s the sign of a good goalkeeper. He adapted and was magnificent for us.”