The Liverpool ECHO's LFC correspondent Paul Gorst looks ahead to an exciting new season after a summer of change at Anfield

The ECHO's Liverpool FC correspondent Paul Gorst chats to Virgil van Dijk in 2023

Hi, Paul Gorst here, the Liverpool ECHO’s Liverpool FC correspondent.

Ahead of a brand new era getting underway, helmed by Arne Slot, here’s a look at what we can expect at a new-look Liverpool.

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While it's hoped that familiarity will breed consistency on the pitch for Liverpool this season, it's a stark contrast off it as a brand new era takes its first steps forward.

After the wildly successful tenure of Jurgen Klopp - a glittering period that reinvigorated the club commercially and culturally just as much as it did from a sporting perspective - comes Arne Slot, the Dutch coach who arrived from Feyenoord at the start of June.

Slot's appointment as the Reds' first-ever 'head coach' was done as a deliberate way of alleviating the exhaustive list of responsibilities that eventually led to burnout for Klopp, whose frank late-January admission that he was "running out of energy" was initially told the club's owners as far back as November of last year.

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After Julian Ward had announced his end-of-season exit just a months into the role in 2022 before stop-gap Jorge Schmadtke left at the end of the January, months before the end of his one-year deal, it was clear Liverpool needed a steady, guiding hand to come into a role which has become hugely prominent and important in English football over the last decade or so.

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Hughes's track record at Bournemouth, his knowledge and contacts books across Italian and Spanish football and his history of working with Edwards marked him out as the outstanding candidate and he was officially named as the new sporting director shortly after Edwards's own return was rubber stamped.

Hughes flew out to the Netherlands to secure Slot's signature after intense talks with first his agent, the Brazilian lawyer Rafaela Pimenta and then Feyenoord themselves and after turning down Tottenham last year, the Dutchman decided the lure of Anfield was too much to resist.

Having all started their roles on June 1, a new axis of power was born at Anfield but it's been slow progress on the recruitment front as interest of varying degrees for Leny Yoro, Anthony Gordon and Martin Zubimendi have all yielded little.

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On the pitch, Slot has spent the early weeks justifying the belief in his coaching abilities.

While nerves and anxiety was felt at times when Liverpool were unable to grab an early lead or when they, as so often happened last season, conceded first, Slot's idea appears to be aimed at dominating the ball and working the opposition into submission.

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“Maybe the only slight difference there is, is that after we win the ball, I like to go forward just as Jurgen liked it," Slot professed this week.

Inevitably, the raft of changes and the desire to avoid injuries has seen the tempo drop at times after the break, but the opening 45 minutes in those aforementioned victories have all left an impression.

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With a full set of players fit and ready, Liverpool's squad is the envy of many and it is perhaps why there is no panic in the recruitment department or desire to foist a number of unsuitable additions on Slot purely for the sake of it.

That being said, there is room to improve and with time running out, it will be fascinating how Liverpool approach the final days of the transfer window.

A new era is finally ready to lift off.

Where to follow me and the Liverpool ECHO

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Heading into my sixth season as LFC correspondent - both home and away - and having worked at the ECHO since 2016, I’m proud of what we have been able to build on the Blood Red podcast.
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