It was a day where nearly every available player in the Liverpool squad was given a run out by Arne Slot but this wasn’t the case for everyone who traveled to the two friendlies.
Speaking about Sepp van den Berg’s lack of minutes, our head coach said: “That’s load management, the way we call it.
READ MORE: (Video) Arne Slot all but confirms departure of absent Liverpool midfielder
“And, of course, a player like Nat [Phillips], who is training with us for a long time, deserved to have some playing time as well.
“So, it’s a combination of a player who has already made a lot of minutes and we don’t want to take the risk of him getting injured – as we don’t want with anyone, but with him we thought it was best for him not to start today.
“That had all to do with load management – and that Nat also deserved to play today.”
It seems to suggest that the centre-back is not immediately in contention for first team minutes, meaning both he and Nat Phillips could be looking for an Anfield exit.
Although there isn’t a huge deal of incoming transfer news, the team selections from the 45-year-old revealed quite a lot about who is or isn’t in contention for the new campaign and so we may see several departures.
You can view Slot’s comments on van den Berg (from 3:21) via Liverpool FC on YouTube:
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