Arne Slot may have just dropped double Liverpool hint over transfer and tactics plans

So Arne Slot is not a myth. Some Kopites quipped he might be a figment of the imagination such was the lengthy wait for his first interview.

It proved 30 days between the official announcement of the Dutchman - make that 31 if you count Jurgen Klopp unveiling his predecessor on the microphone during his Anfield farewell - and his first interview.

But Slot, donning Liverpool attire, has indeed spoken for the first time. And he impressed. In truth, there might not have ever been a new manager or head coach who has not. Rarely have supporters of any team been left concerned by the maiden words of the latest incumbent.

However, Slot delivered what was required. He did not try to shun the magnificent work Klopp oversaw in nine years. Nor is he trying to rip up the German's blueprint but will put his own spin on things.

“We are going to try to work on what Jurgen left behind and we will see a lot of similar things," said Slot. "But, of course, I bring my own things to the table as well and I think that's also what is expected of me."

Slot was hired because he plays a similar way to Klopp. Liverpool did not want their new boss to deploy a fresh formation that would require significant changes to the current squad.

Say the Reds had have hired Sporting Lisbon's Ruben Amorin, for example. He prefers a 3-4-3 system and that would mean Liverpool would be short of centre-backs and have too many centre-midfielders. Perhaps only Andy Robertson could also naturally play wing-back in that formation, too.

Instead, Slot is likely to field a similar brand to Klopp. And that could mean that he keeps Trent Alexander-Arnold in defence. There has been a clamour for several years for Liverpool's vice-captain to be moved into the engine room. However, Klopp resisted those calls and kept him at right-back. There was a shift in tactics, with Alexander-Arnold taking up a hybrid role in Klopp's final campaign, roaming into the middle of the park.

The fact he's started both of England's games at Euro 2024 as a midfielder, and been handed the No.8 shirt, has meant that the pleas for him to be given new responsibility on Merseyside have continued.

What's more, Slot's words also reaffirmed there will not be sweeping incomings and outgoing to the squad. That's something that has rarely happened. After all, when Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019, the only first-team arrivals that summer were back-up goalkeepers Adrian and Andy Lonergan.

Last year was somewhat of an anomaly with four recruits being brought in. But a midfield rebuild was necessary and the exits of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho were a surprise.

This time around, however, there are no glaring gaps in the squad. After a third-place finish in the Premier League, there is only a feeling that a young squad will improve. Yet there is agreement among supporters that defence improvements after required. A new centre-back to fill the void of Joel Matip, and potentially be a Virgil van Dijk successor, could be on the agenda. With Wataru Endo the only senior option, defensive midfield is another area of the set-up that might be bolstered.

Slot will undoubtedly want to replenish some options - the dressing room will feel the same. But he’ll scarcely be spending to the tune of £200 million that compatriot Erik ten Hag was afforded in his maiden summer at Manchester United two years ago. There is no requirement to do so.