£70m Richard Hughes MISTAKE will be the end of Arne Slot

Liverpool went bold in the transfer market in the summer, much to the fans' delight, but spending such an extreme amount of money results in expectations and so far, the Reds haven't met them.

Star signing Florian Wirtz is yet to record a goal contribution in the Premier League, Milos Kerkez hasn't been able to live up to last season's heights at left-back, Jeremy Frimpong has pulled up with two hamstring issues in three months and Hugo Ekitike's bright start quickly turned to frustration.

The entire team is littered with issues, not just the new signings, and the whirlwind of problems circling in Arne Slot's mind is enough to give you a migraine just thinking about it. Tactically, we've been found out and we're all over the place defensively. The Dutchman is under pressure.

One ongoing concern, which was orchestrated by Richard Hughes during the summer, is likely to cost Slot his job if he can't find a solution quickly. The fans are fed up and nothing is changing.

Liverpool's profligacy ramps up the pressure

Put simply, you can't spend a record £450m in the summer transfer window and find yourselves sitting 11th in the Premier League after 12 games. That's where Liverpool are; it's not good enough.

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A large chunk of that spend went on Alexander Isak, who joined on Deadline Day for £125m. As a world class player, with two years experience of playing in England, the weight of expectation on his shoulders couldn't have been greater. Claims that his move has been a 'flop' are hard to ignore.

For the record-breaking fee, Liverpool were expecting at least the 25 goals that he scored in each of his seasons at Newcastle. He averaged around 3100 minutes to achieve that feat, and given he was joining a more creative team in the Reds, it felt like a new season-best could well be on the cards.

Through nine appearances, making up 497 minutes, the Swede has one goal and one assist. For some of those games, it's fair to claim that he's been battling with (self-inflicted) fitness issues, but now that we're approaching December, those 'excuses' are wearing thin. He has to start delivering.

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Reasons behind Isak's struggles

It's clear as day that having Ekitike in the squad is hindering Isak's development. We need to give the Swede regular game-time, but the Frenchman's form is making it difficult to ignore him. In this team, there's only so many chances you can give a player before someone else takes their place.

The decision to start an out-of-form Isak over Ekitike split the fanbase, but the more expensive and senior player should really be taking precedence. Playing £200m worth of strikers together has so far proved quite difficult. It's one or the other, who's given the nod is a constant point of contention.

Under the surface, however, it's more a more difficult decision than you might think. Ekitike often drops deep and creates his own chances as much as finishing off those created by his teammates.

Whereas, with Isak, it's all about putting the ball in the box for the target man to finish off. Sam McGuire posted a pass map to X after the Nottingham Forest clash on Saturday, and it's clear that Liverpool are struggling to get the ball to him. That's as much a tactical issue as it is an Isak one.

Be great if we could figure out how to get Isak a little more involved. pic.twitter.com/DxDO8nFd5W

— Sam McGuire (@SamMcGuire90) November 22, 2025

Looking deeper at Isak's stats so far, he's missed six big chances, made four key passes and created a big chance. There are positives that we can take from him, but he's generally underperforming.

In real terms, the £125m transfer cost £70m when Darwin Nunez's move to Al Hilal is considered, and it's fascinating when you look at what the Uruguayan's efforts in the same metrics were last season.

Nunez had seven goals, alongside five assists, he missed 17 big chances, made 24 key passes and created five big chances. He played 2059 minutes in the title-winning campaign, which is around four times what Isak's been given so far, but the Swede might struggle to match those figures.

It was clear that Nunez's efforts weren't good enough, and it's clear that Isak needs to improve, but the Uruguayan was more involved in Liverpool's attacks than his replacement is, and yet both teams were overseen by Arne Slot. One striker was a flop, while the other is a 'world class' asset...

Eventually, you'd expect things to click for Isak. He's contracted until 2031, he's still just 26 years old, approaching the peak of his career, and for £125m and £280,000 a week, he needs to deliver.

But whether Slot will still be here when things turnaround is a different story. Having a far superior asset to Nunez in the squad, and things going backwards is a disaster of truly epic proportions.

It's quite right that the Dutch head coach will be afforded the opportunity to get the Reds out of this hole, but sporting director Richard Hughes will have worked closely with Slot to make sure that his summer recruits were exactly what he needed to retain the Premier League. It indefensible that the record signing is underperforming like he is, and someone will need to be the fall-guy for his failure.

There's still time for things to change, but the clock is ticking. We need an immediate turnaround.

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