Football writer Alex Keble looks at the questions Liverpool will potentially need to answer after becoming Premier League champions.
Liverpool can bask in the glow of their Premier League title for the next four weeks, enjoying guards of honour as they play park football in the spring sunshine before lifting the trophy at Anfield on 25 May.
But while that goes on in the foreground, head coach Arne Slot will be busy making plans for 2025/26.
The job of a football manager is relentless; Slot’s attention will have turned to retaining the title long before the first confetti cannon is fired.
Here are the questions Slot and his team will need to answer over the coming months.
Is this the end of an era, or the start of a new one?
Even at this time of celebration, there is a nagging worry that may linger in the minds of the most pessimistic Liverpool supporters, and it’s a concern that’s certainly getting a lot of airtime from pundits dissecting the 2024/25 triumph.
To some, Liverpool’s 20th title represents the tail end of the Jurgen Klopp era, rather than the start of something new.
"The only thing now is to send my appreciation to Klopp," Slot said after last Sunday's 5-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
"At so many moments in the season, the two of us have had contact. I think he showed last season what a wonderful human being he is by introducing me. But what mattered most is the team he left behind was able to win the trophy."
It was magnanimous of Slot to bring up the man who built this team. But what does that mean for the future?
That’s why the upcoming summer – the transfer market, but also a second summer of Slot’s coaching – is such a pivotal moment.
Only next year’s performance can tell us whether the 2024/25 title was truly Slot’s victory or rather the afterglow of Klopp.
Can Liverpool use the same blueprint or do they need to evolve?
It would feel rather unfair not to credit Slot for overcoming the odds and proving pre-season predictions of a decline wrong, especially given the evidence we have of the changes he made.
Slot introduced calmer control into the team and better game management; got more out of Mohamed Salah; repurposed Ryan Gravenberch as an elite No 6; and revitalised Cody Gakpo.
He also made a number of alterations to the team’s preparation, from pre-match breathing exercises to ice baths to new sleeping arrangements.
Whether you consider these to be minor tweaks to the Klopp vision or a significant re-making of the formula, there is little doubt that Slot will need to evolve things further in 2025/26.
The Premier League is a remorseless division these days and, as Slot will know, opposition scouts and analysts make tactical ideas redundant almost as quickly as they’re created.
That’s always the case, but perhaps especially so for new managers whose surprise element wears off after the first year.
The previous manager to win the title in his debut season, Antonio Conte, followed up his 93-point campaign at Chelsea in 2016/17 with just 70 points in 2017/18.
In fact, Jose Mourinho is the only manager in Premier League history to have won the title in his first season and then retained it. All four previous debut winners collected fewer points in year two:
| Manager | Debut season position/points | Second season position/points |
| Jose Mourinho | 1st - 95 points | 1st – 91 points |
|---|---|---|
| Carlo Ancelotti | 1st – 86 points | 2nd – 71 points |
| Manuel Pellegrini | 1st – 86 points | 2nd – 79 points |
| Antonio Conte | 1st – 93 points | 5th – 70 points |
How will Slot’s cool and composed tactics stand up to a high-stakes title race?
Slot might find it similarly tough in year two, and not necessarily by being tactically ‘found out’ or struggling to provide further tweaks to keep opponents on their toes.
No, his Liverpool could suffer for a more psychological reason.
Praise has rightly been heaped on Slot for slowing Liverpool down; for tempering some of the more fiery aspects of Klopp’s team and teaching the players how to rest in possession or take the sting out of contests they’re winning.
But that is far easier to do when running away with the title.
Since 25 November, when Liverpool first went eight points clear after matchday 13, Slot’s side have always retained a healthy lead (or at least a theoretical lead, carrying games in hand) that only once – very briefly – dipped to as few as five points.
On the day they wrapped up the title, Liverpool had been top of the table for 206 days in 2024/25, 165 more than any other side.
Slot’s success has been built on cool heads and composure, but if nobody is really putting you under pressure, can you really say that those qualities have been tested?
If Arsenal, Manchester City or someone else goes toe-to-toe next season, Liverpool may find it far more difficult; may buckle under the pressure, making the kind of rash decisions that wore down Klopp’s side towards the end.
After all, at the beginning of this month, Liverpool had 73 points from 30 games, just three points more than Klopp’s side had at the same stage of 2023/24.
The downturn that followed last year might have been tactical and might have been tiredness - or it might have been the pressure cooker of a close-fought title race.
This time next year we may just find ourselves asking: did Slot really introduce composure, or was it a trick of the light?
Where do Liverpool need to strengthen in the summer?
Retaining that composure will most likely depend upon reinforcements this summer.
In fact, it’s hard to recall a new Premier League champion so obviously in need of fresh faces which, again, might leave some supporters concerned we are in the afterglow of the Klopp era.
A strong summer would cast those doubts aside.
It has been widely reported that Liverpool are looking for a No 6 after failing to sign one last summer, while Slot may be seeking an upgrade on Andrew Robertson at left-back.
Robertson has struggled to maintain his high standards this year. He has failed to record a single goal or assist in the Premier League, having averaged 9.3 goal involvements per season under Klopp, and has declined on a number of other metrics:
Robertson last two PL seasons compared
Click here to zoom in on image.
Liverpool could also do with a new goalscoring No 9 given that Darwin Nunez only netted five Premier League goals this season, while a right-back will be a priority if Trent Alexander-Arnold departs at the end of his current contract.
At the very least, Slot needs three new players capable of challenging for a starting spot. And that’s before we even consider the age profile of the current squad.
Will Salah and Van Dijk deliver on new contracts?
Salah and Virgil van Dijk have committed to staying, which makes this summer considerably easier for Slot, and yet at 32 and 33 respectively, there is still succession planning to be done.
In fact, nine members of Slot’s 22-man squad will be 28 or older by the start of next season, which includes five players in their thirties. They have the fifth-oldest squad in the division, with an average age of 26.7.
That should be fine for another year at least, especially if the summer signings are on the younger side, although that does depend on both Salah and Van Dijk delivering.
Salah has scored or assisted 46 Premier League goals this season, 58 per cent of the club’s total. Their reliance upon him could be an issue should Salah regress towards a Premier League average of 33 goal involvements per season.
As for Van Dijk, only time will tell if he can retain his speed, acceleration, and athleticism into his mid-30s, especially with Liverpool hoping to go deeper in the UEFA Champions League next year.
It is perhaps time for Slot to get more out of his younger contingent. Harvey Elliott (22), Jarell Quansah (22), and Conor Bradley (21) amassed just six Premier League starts between them this season.
All three need to step up in 2025/26.
Can Slot retain the title while competing on multiple fronts?
No Liverpool manager has retained the league title since Bob Paisley in 1983.
That brings into sharp focus the scale of the task facing Slot, who must also navigate a busy summer transfer window of ins and outs as well as an expectation that Liverpool should go further in the Champions League.
The goal for next year is twofold: become the first Liverpool manager to retain the league title since Paisley (and second Premier League manager, after Pep Guardiola, to retain the crown since Sir Alex Ferguson) as well as juggle multiple competitions at once.
The confetti hasn’t even settled on the 2024/25 campaign and already we’re pointing out how difficult next year will be.
But that doesn’t mean Liverpool fans should be pessimistic. Slot has already shown himself to be an unflappable leader and master tactician.
This is just as likely to be the beginning as it is the end. And as the rest of the club parties, Slot, no doubt, is already laser-focused on answering the questions that will determine Liverpool’s future.