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Arne Slot is reportedly worried by Thomas Tuchel international break plan
The international break is here, and for most Premier League clubs it offers at least a partial reprieve – a window to recover, reset, and prepare for what is a congested and high-stakes run to the end of the season. For Liverpool, however, head coach Arne Slot isn’t quite so optimistic about the next nine days.
Tuchel has named an enlarged 35-man England squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, a group that did not involve Trent Alexander-Arnold. but rather than using all his players across both fixtures, he has opted to split the group – deliberately resting a core group of around eleven players for the bulk of the week before they join up with the camp on Saturday. It’s a pragmatic approach from the England boss.
According to the Telegraph, Arne Slot is one of a number of Premier League coaches who feel that Tuchel’s approach could benefit rivals in the Champions League race.
Slot said in his post-Brighton press conference:
“Yeah, it’s a break for me, maybe it’s a break for you, but it’s not a break for the players. I saw this today for the first time and maybe if I’m saying something wrong now then I’m wrong, but I thought I read today [Thomas] Tuchel, the England national team manager, said to 15 players they had to come in later during the camp.
“And if I am correct, but I have to read all the names one more time, those were mainly the players that have played Champions League and played so many games this season.”
“Unfortunately for us, it’s the only country where we don’t have internationals, so all the other ones will probably use our players again twice.”
It’s a concern that carries real weight with context. Liverpool’s first game back after the break is against Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals – one of the toughest possible fixtures to return to. City, by contrast, have five players in Tuchel’s split squad, meaning several of their key men could head into that tie with more rest under their belts than their Liverpool counterparts.
With the Champions League places still not secured and seven Premier League games remaining, the last thing Slot needs is his most important players returning from the break running on fumes.
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