Liverpool face their own Palmer disaster with “magic” ace

Liverpool are staring down the barrel of a gun in relation to outgoings in 2025, with the overhanging black clouds of contractual uncertainty starting to become very real indeed.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is probably the most prominent name and likely member to depart this year, for his deal will expire at the end of the campaign and Real Madrid have a vested interest in his prized signature. They are doing everything to bring him to the Spanish capital.

It’s almost unbelievable that Arne Slot has taken to Anfield’s head chair so seamlessly, with such confidence, after Jurgen Klopp’s shocking decision to step down at the end of the 2023/24 term.

But then, Slot’s sharp tactical mind and cool interpersonal skills lend themselves to success at a top-performing club like Liverpool, who are sitting pretty at the top of the league and European tables.

Whichever angle you view it from, it’s been quite the ride already. However, FSG know that moves need to be made in both directions this year, with more than just the big non-committal three potentially heading for pastures new.

Liverpool facing 2025 exodus

As well as Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah continue to discuss contract extensions with Liverpool. The latter two are viewed with more optimism, but we’re well into January and there still hasn’t been a breakthrough.

Caught Offside have confirmed that talks have been held between Slot and Darwin Nunez to inform the Uruguay striker that his form needs to improve or he will find his place at risk, with a £60m price tag already having been slapped on his name.

Federico Chiesa only signed in the summer but may already be in danger of the chop, with injuries limiting him to just four appearances so far. Paris Saint-Germain are pushing to sign Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Napoli view Liverpool’s versatile forward as the perfect replacement.

There there’s Harvey Elliott. The midfielder has endured a tough season under Slot’s wing and is on the radar of Brighton & Hove Albion and Borussia Dortmund due to a lack of playing time, as per Sky Sports.

Frustratingly, the early knockings of the season kept Elliott on the sidelines after he fractured his foot on international duty with England U21s, with Slot calling it a “big disappointment” given that he would have earned ample opportunities over the coming months.

Well, the 21-year-old’s been fit for over a month now but is still limited to the bittiest of bit-part roles, seemingly giving rise to rumours that he’s heading for the door this year.

If Liverpool were to entertain this notion, it would be a grave mistake. In fact, Slot may be in danger of creating his own Cole Palmer disaster with this talented playmaker.

Slot’s own Cole Palmer disaster

We all know the story. In August 2023 Manchester City sold their homegrown talent, Palmer, to Chelsea in a deal worth £42.5m after he had played 41 times for the senior side and clinched eight goal contributions.

Such a steep figure for one so young and untested on the major stage raised more than a few eyebrows, but Chelsea are revelling in the hindsight consensus, with Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher hailing the 22-year-old as “the best player in the Premier League” back in October.

With Mohamed Salah stealing the headlines this season, it might feel like Palmer has plateaued, a victim of that ‘one-season-wonder’ syndrome that gets pinned to any up-and-coming sensation on English shores, but Palmer is still performing at the top of his game, a real superstar in the making.

There’s no question that he made the right move in 2023, becoming Chelsea’s main man instantaneously after struggling to break into Pep Guardiola’s elite-level unit. How the Spanish manager must rue his decision now.

It might have been the right move for Palmer, and there’s every chance that Elliott would nurture his qualities with teams like Brighton and Dortmund, but he can also make a marked difference in Liverpool’s growing project over the next several years.

As per FBref, the English ace ranks among the top 1% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists and shot-creating actions and the top 6% for progressive passes and progressive carries, demonstrating age-defying skills in regard to his playmaking ability.

However, there’s no question that Elliott needs more action, or else he will push for a transfer away himself. Though he was sidelined for the opening months of the season, the £40k-per-week talent has only managed to feature off the bench in the Premier League since, with his six appearances totalling just 36 minutes of action plus stoppage time.

Elliott is still so young; it’s easy to forget that this is a player who has yet to even brush the outer fringes of his ‘prime years.’ Liverpool may come to regret not playing him all the same. He wasn’t called from the bench as Liverpool lost to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening, a match that yearned for a creative spark.

Last season, Elliott struggled for minutes until the business end. Ah, but then he showcased his skills and style, chalking up a goal and four assists across the final six Premier League matches of Klopp’s dynasty.

Just over one year ago, the one-time Fulham youngster admitted that he didn’t want to be known as a ‘super-sub,’ firm in the belief that his qualities called for a greater role. So then, we can hardly expect him to be content with his current situation, can we?

Former Liverpool U18s head coach Neil Critchley once hailed Elliott for producing “some real bits of magic on the ball” and he’s translated this deep-rooted talent onto the major stage.

Maybe Elliott has watched Palmer’s rise and rise at Stamford Bridge and wondered if he should follow suit. He must not. Liverpool’s tactical team simply have to recognise the disastrous situation they would allow to develop.

The diminutive left-footer has spoken of the adaptation to Slot’s football, and while he has acknowledged that it has been “very intense,” he spoke of the style with a broad beam, eager to make headway in England’s top-placed team.

FSG have a big decision to make this month. They must make the right decision. Elliott cannot be allowed to venture off when he’s displayed such promise throughout his fledgeling career thus far, notching 25 goal contributions across 125 senior appearances for the Reds, starting just 54 of those matches.

Let’s step back a moment and recall a comment made by Klopp when he was approaching the final moments of his distinguished Merseyside tenure. Klopp admitted that his great regret at Liverpool was failing to play Elliott more often.

Might Slot come to harbour similar regrets, should this wonderful force of a midfielder ply his art elsewhere next season? Liverpool might just find themselves rueing their own mistake in the mould of Cole Palmer.

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