“What happens to Isak?” It was impossible to move through Liverpool in the past three weeks without that question.
It is also completely understandable. The prospect of a record -breaking signature that is added to a title -winning team is the most powerful combination for a conversation in this football, so it was not long before Arne Slot was asked for his opinion on Friday.
The head coach of Liverpool is too smart and too respectful to say something to add to this story, so he smiled vague and explained politely that “you know we don't talk about players from other clubs”; He understood what would come, but his bat, for this investigation, would always be straight.
Life continues, new topics must be discussed, but there was something in Slot's eyes that clearly reminded you of what was important this summer and it has nothing to do with whether £ 120 million will be spent on a new striker.
Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, died on July 3 at a car accident and the impact of that catastrophe remains everywhere in a club felt that does its best to move forward, but in reality stays in a shock.
“First of all, the tragedy had us consequences, but it had much more influence on his wife, children and his parents,” Slot said softly. 'The tribute that have since been made were emotional and impressive; It started in Preston and then in Asia. They were emotional but impressive. '
Tomorrow there will be more tribute at Wembley against Crystal Palace, one of the Jota teams scored last season. His six goals were immediately responsible for six points in the romp to the title, but his presence, like a universally loved character, away from the field was just as profound.
So it is not wrong to ask yourself which shadow will throw its death. Many fans expect that athletes will simply pop up and continue winning, week after week, without ever thinking too deeply about issues behind the scenes and it was away from the cameras that Slot brought this into focus.
Again, a question was asked about the window and the activity of Liverpool. Again, it was fair and again, Slot understood the reason behind it. But when he started to respond, he explained how English is not his first language and he didn't want something to be interpreted wrong. It was not worried to worry.
'It's not like we start when the season ends and say:' Okay, who are we going to bring in? “Sold said. “So we already knew what the plans were. This is the way this club has always worked to prepare for a summer like this.
'But what I think is not talking about – although you have to make your own decision when you talk about it – is that I have lost four players who have started regularly. One of them, we, his family, lost him. That's Diogo. '
Often it is the shortest sentences that have the most in -depth impact and 'That's Diogo' was the kind of punctuation that hammered things home. This has been the kind of incident that you want to be a nightmare, but there is no awake from reality.
No wonder, then that lock was quiet and if he is quiet for the entire campaign, who could blame him? If, however, the man he is, Liverpool will put forward as well as possible, aware that the show must continue and deal with everything that means.
So he will give the world a glimpse of what the 'new' Liverpool looks like tomorrow on Wembley, while trying to win the Community Shield for the fourth time this century and put down a marker for the new campaign.
The expectation, especially if they happen to make a breakthrough in the pursuit of Isak and recruit a back -up central defender, is that they will leave their rivals rawless. Newspaper heads with spending of almost £ 300 million do nothing but increase expectations, but Slot offered a different picture.
“Darwin (Nunez) may be about to leave,” said Slot. 'Luis Diaz (who joined Bayern Munich) was a clear starter and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was a clear starter. So normally in the Premier League, teams only buy and never sell them. We both do.
“So that's something I think it has not been tackled enough. It is very normal if four of them are not there that you also bring in players. It is very normal, if Trent goes, that we bring in a full-back. If Luis goes, we may bring in Florian Wirtz, who can play like a 10 and like a left wing player.
'It is very normal if an attack option is not there with Diogo that we bring in Hugo Ekitike. And don't forget that we only sold last season, we didn't buy. Has the team been improved? That is something that I can only tell you on September 1, because the window is open for another three weeks. '
Which lock cannot dispute is the fact that there are intrigues to see how all these beds in it. How does Hugo Ekitike fit next to Mo Salah? Will embryonic
Maybe it all clicks against Palace, the FA Cup holders, but maybe it takes time. So much has happened since these two parties gave each other an honorary guard on 25 May before they played a 1-1 draw at Anfield and sometimes it was all so difficult to process.
“I feel that the players we brought have already done very well, as expected,” said Slot. “That's why we brought them in. But I can't tell you now whether these players can perform at the same level every three days, so we first have to start the season [to see].
'I knew that Luis Diaz could do that and that all others could do that. So that is another challenge at the Premier League, because we play so many games. For Milos Kerkez it will probably be his first time that he might have to play every three days at this level.
'Florian Wirtz comes from the Bundesliga, where he was used to playing every three or four days, but we have to ask him in two months whether the intensity levels of the Premier League are comparable to the Bundesliga.
'In terms of talent and the quality we have brought, we see that we have a very good team again. But we have to wait: will they all stay fit? Those who left were fit almost the entire season. Will everyone we have taken the same thing?
'There are several factors that you should take into account. Again, I am really happy with the players we brought. But we also lost starters who had a big impact on our title -winning season last year. '
No one bigger than the man whose name will undoubtedly be sung in the 20th minute and often before and after. Football is great and the chat and the debate it generates will never grow old. But never forget what is important. Diogo Jota and Andre Silva must remind you of that.