Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted that he was open to the prospect of playing a 4-4-2 to accommodate both Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiké, although only under specific circumstances.
It took months, a strike and £125 million ($168.5 million) to extract Isak from Newcastle United. However, as Liverpool chairman Tom Werner revealed, the club were quite content with the acquisition of Ekitiké before belatedly sealing the most expensive deal in British football history on Deadline Day.
Liverpool undoubtedly needed a new forward. On top of the departures of Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez, Diogo Jota tragically passed away.
However, Ekitiké’s price tag—he could end up costing as much as £79 million—and fine start to the season doesn’t exactly have the makings of a backup striker. Slot has previously floated the possibility of shunting the Frenchman out wide on the left while Isak retains his spot through the middle, yet the prospect of an old-school solution was raised for the first time.
“I consider [playing both together] because you consider many things,” Slot told assembled media at his prematch press conference ahead of Saturday’s Merseyside derby against Everton. “It depends on how well they are doing.
“If both in best form of their life, you consider it more but it’s also clear we have a 4-3-3 structure, playing with three midfielders, but it has also happened quite a lot that we end the game with two No. 9s. Hugo can also play off the left, different to Cody [Gakpo] and Rio [Ngumoha].
“That’s the good thing about our squad, we have multiple options but first of all they all have to stay fit. If some aren’t fit, we might have to use them both in a 4-4-2. That all depends on form and how many players are available. Maybe everyone is fit now and I can choose between 21 players, that is quite normal. It’s not too much.”
Liverpool have lined up in a 4-4-2 just twice throughout Slot’s entire tenure. And on each occasion, the Dutch tactician didn’t deploy a single orthodox centre forward—let alone two—opting instead for a pair of false nines in the form of midfielders Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Few elite modern teams operate with two traditional No. 9s anymore given the lack of midfield coverage it affords—Manchester United have repeatedly shown how difficult it can be to play with just a pair of central midfielders.
Serie A giants Inter offer a rare exception to this rule, dutifully deploying a lethal tandem of Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martínez. However, this top-heaving pairing is complemented by a midfield three in a 3-5-2 formation. Not once has Slot shown any willingness to deploy three centre backs during his Anfield tenure.
Is Alexander Isak Going to Start vs. Everton?
There will almost certainly be no grand tactical changes for this weekend’s Merseyside derby. In the question of Isak or Ekitiké, Slot remained defiantly tightlipped during his prematch press conference. “I don’t think I tell the media a lot the day before a game,” he fired back.
“What I do know is that Alex did feel his body more than ever before after the 60 minutes he played [against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday],” Slot was willing to admit. “Let’s see how he has recovered today, and then we will think about the lineup.”
Given the care which Liverpool have taken regarding Isak’s reintegration to match action following a summer spent in self-imposed exile, it seems incredibly unlikely that Slot will force his most expensive asset to start two games in the space of less than 65 hours.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘We Might’—Arne Slot Opens Door to Major Tactical Shift for Alexander Isak.
