Arne Slot drops Vini Jr to Liverpool transfer hint as ‘everyone aligned’ on next move

Robin Bairner

• 22 Jan 2026 12:19 GMT
• 5 min read

News

Arne Slot has revealed his admiration for Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior while discussing Liverpool’s shortcomings and says that everyone at Anfield is “aligned” on what the club has to do in the transfer market.

Speaking after Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday, Slot was delighted with the outcome of the game, which leaves the Reds needing only a win against Qarabag to secure a place in the last 16.

But he admitted that Liverpool have been “boring” this season, arguing this is because how teams have been setting up against them – and he tacitly admitted that there is a plan in the pipeline to solve the problem.

Slot admits Liverpool struggles

Slot admitted that Liverpool have struggled to break down deep-lying opponents this season.

“I think we’ve shown this season that every time when it’s a bit more of an open game, and that has mainly been in Europe but a few times in the Premier League as well, we are a very good team. We can make it difficult for everyone,” he told CBS.

“But when we face low blocks, we struggle to create chances a little bit more for obvious reasons. Everyone in the club is aligned on that.

“I think Pep said something about it yesterday about what you need against low blocks.

“But today we didn’t face a low block and we played a very good game.

“If you face a low block, it’s very hard to get pace into the game. We tried against Burnley. We found a few adjustments which helped because against Burnley we created probably two or three times the amount of chances as today. But now we scored three.”

Jamie Carragher put it to Slot that the match he referenced against the Clarets, which ended 1-1, was simply an unlucky game, but the pundit suggested that Liverpool need more pace to their game more generally.

“I agree,” Slot said. “If the players are even better than the ones at Burnley, it makes it really hard to create a lot of chances unless you have certain qualities, which I’ve spoken about.”

Slot teeing up Vini Jr move?

Slot has made it plain that Liverpool need more pace and individual qualities in the wide areas on previous occasions, and his comments after Marseille reinforced this.

He also suggested that Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior might be an ideal signing. He referenced the Brazilian’s individual quality in the recent Clasico encounter between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

“I’ve already given you the example of Barcelona and Madrid, where Vinicius scored an incredible 1 vs. 1,” he said, when delivering a case study of a game in which individual quality has broken down the type of defence Liverpool have struggled again.

Interestingly, Liverpool have been linked with a potential move for Vini Jr ahead of the summer, with the Real Madrid star out of contract in 2027 and therefore liable to be on the transfer market if no new deal is agreed in the next six months.

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