The departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid has left Liverpool to want creativity, but the signing of attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz can help compensate for that shortage, said Arne Slot, manager of the Premier League club.
Liverpool hit their transfer record in June to sign Wirtz and to strengthen their attacking options, with the German International scored 57 goals and gave 65 assists in 197 performances for Bayer Leverkusen.
Wirtz played for the first time on Monday in a Liverpool shirt in Anfield and brought an impressive performance in the 3-2 victory of the Merseyside Club over Athletic Bilbao in a match for the season.
“I think there is always room for improvement in every department. Like I said, in my opinion we have added a few extra weapons. So, Florian (Wirtz) has a lot of creativity in the last third part,” Slot told reporters.
“With Trent (Alexander-Arnold) we lost a lot of creativity from behind. Trent's crossing and choosing runners was so special-I think that Flo also has this quality in a completely different position.
“But he brings that creativity, the pace of Hugo (Ekitike), the pace of both Full-backs-Milos (Kerkez) and Jeremie (Frimpong) today.”
Liverpool, who won the Premier League to secure a record-similar 20th English title, has been busy in the transfer market while they want to build on the success of last season.
Slot said it was crucial to strengthen the team.
“Our competitors are not standing still,” he added.
“Not only do they also try to improve, but they have also done a lot of signing sessions, as we have all done. That is why it will be a very interesting Premier League in the coming year.”
Liverpool takes on FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in the Shield Community on 10 August, before they started their Premier League title defense against Bournemouth in Anfield on 15 August.