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Beth LindopAug 14, 2025, 07:01 PM<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Based in Liverpool, Beth Lindop is ESPN’s Liverpool correspondent and also covers the WSL and UWCL.<\/p>\n Liverpool<\/a> head coach Arne Slot has said it will be harder than ever before to win the Premier League<\/a> this season but feels his team are “definitely ready” to begin their title defence.<\/p>\n Slot’s side won the league by a 10-point margin last season, sealing the title with four games to spare.<\/p>\n However, despite a busy summer transfer window at Anfield — that has seen Trent Alexander-Arnold<\/a>, Darwin N\u00fa\u00f1ez<\/a>, Luis D\u00edaz<\/a> and Caoimh\u00edn Kelleher<\/a> among the names to depart with Jeremie Frimpong<\/a>, Milos Kerkez<\/a>, Florian Wirtz<\/a>, Giorgi Mamardashvili<\/a> and Hugo Ekitike<\/a> arriving — the Liverpool boss has said he expects his team to face stern competition as they bid to retain their crown.<\/p>\n “In preseason it’s normal there is some room for improvement,” Slot said.<\/p>\n “We’ve not only lost three or four starters, we’ve lost five or six players that played a lot of minutes for us last season and then we brought in new players so it’s normal there’s a little bit of adaptation. We are definitely ready for the league to start.<\/p>\n “There are so many competitors who can win the league over here. To win it once is already very special, let alone if you can win twice in five years like us or like Manchester City<\/a>, who did even better.<\/p>\n “That’s unbelievable if you’re able to do this in this league. Probably this year it is going to be harder than every year before because every team brings in new players but our main competitors definitely did as well.”<\/p>\n There are likely to be more incomings at Anfield before the transfer window closes, with Liverpool having agreed a deal<\/a> to sign Parma<\/a> centre-back Giovanni Leoni<\/a> for \u00a326 million ($35m) plus add-ons.<\/p>\n Sources also told ESPN the club opened talks<\/a> with Crystal Palace<\/a> to sign captain Marc Gu\u00e9hi<\/a> earlier this week, though Slot refused to be drawn on reports linking Liverpool with the player.<\/p>\n – Liverpool open talks with Palace over Marc Gu\u00e9hi deal – sources<\/a> On Leoni, Slot said: “The clubs have agreed a deal but he hasn’t signed for us yet so the moment when he signs for us I can go into more detail. The other one [Gu\u00e9hi] is the answer you always get from me. He’s not our player and unfortunately he was the captain of the team we lost against last Sunday.<\/p>\n “If you want to have any talks about him, you should go to Palace.”<\/p>\nArne Slot won the Premier League title in his first season with Liverpool.\u00a0Photo by Carl Recine\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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