Arne Slot offers cryptic response to Liverpool transfer question | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Arne Slot refused to be drawn into January transfer speculation after watching his side draw 1-1 with high-flying Nottingham Forest.

The Reds fell behind at The City Ground after Chris Wood notched his 13th Premier League goal of the season and they were still trailing after 65 minutes when Slot decided to make a double substitution, replacing central defender Ibrahima Konate with forward Diogo Jota as well as bringing Kostas Tsimikas on for Andy Robertson in a straight swap at left-back.

The move paid dividends instantly as Jota headed in Tsimikas' corner, and the Premier League leaders should probably have gone on to win the game as Forest, who have leapfrogged Arsenal into second, began to tire.

Speaking post-match, Slot was asked whether or not the performance had highlighted any areas that he'd like to strengthen in January, but the Dutchman deflected away from the question and instead focused on the players he already has at his disposal.

"I think you saw today again that I can still strengthen the team or impact the game with the substitutes I have on the bench. Not for the first time this season, these players have helped us, that I could bring in," he said.

Tsimikas and Jota made immediate impacts from the bench / Richard Sellers/Allstar/GettyImages

"If you look at today, like I said, I couldn’t have asked for more. I said to them at half-time don’t get frustrated, you will not get many chances, probably the game is going to be slow, but just keep focusing on what you have to do and hopefully you will get two or three chances and let’s try to score from that. I was completely wrong because they created chance after chance after chance."

Jota's goal was his fifth Premier League strike of what's been an injury-disrupted season so far. The Portuguese also struggled with niggles during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns but he continues to be a huge influence for Liverpool.

Indeed, his half-hour appearance against Forest saw him have three shots on target, take seven touches in the opposition penalty area and wreak general havoc as Liverpool pushed for a winning goal.

"He made a big impact already before when he came in against Fulham but then after that game he had a bit of a setback and then the games he came in afterwards I also felt he needed a bit more time to get into his rhythm," Slot said of the 28-year-old.

"That’s not only with him, I see that with other players as well that were out for a few weeks or a few months, it is difficult to get this intensity going in these Premier League games immediately. And it was very pleasing to see that today he might even have been better than against Fulham when he came in. He had a big impact, he was the one, apart from Mo [Salah], that had a few chances to score our second goal.