Arne Slot Rules Out Loan Move For Liverpool Midfielder James McConnell In January Transfer Window
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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has ruled out the possibility of James McConnell leaving on loan in the January transfer window. McConnell was handed his first start in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night.
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The 20-year-old was one of the standout players for the Reds despite losing 3-2 to the Eredivisie champions. He lasted the entire duration of the game for Premier League leaders who had already secured automatic qualification to the last 16.
McConnell enjoyed a breakthrough season in Liverpool's senior squad last term, making nine appearances under Jurgen Klopp, and was part of the team that beat Chelsea 1-0 to win the Carabao Cup.
The midfielder was expected to go out on loan last summer but suffered an injury for the majority of the first half of Slot’s maiden campaign. He made his return last month and has since racked up three appearances.
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Arne Slot disclosed that he is scheduled to sit down with sporting director Richard Hughes on Thursday before the transfer window closes and decide which players might leave on loan including Jayden Danns, Tyler Morton, and Trey Nyoni.
The Dutchman, however, disclosed that academy graduate McConnell remains part of his plans for the season.
Slot said: "There’s always a chance in life. At the moment we have most of our players fit, so we will have this discussion tomorrow, me and Richard [Hughes], about these players.
"There is definitely one of them that will not go on loan – and I think you know which one I mean. James McConnell. I wouldn’t say definitely, but I liked him a lot today, so maybe now the end result today would be it’d be good for him to go somewhere and play.
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"He was also a player that hasn’t played in the last six or seven months 90 minutes because he was injured for a while. He impressed me a lot today."
The 46-year-old added: "If I would have been surprised it would mean during training sessions he is not able to play at this level and that’s not the truth, because he is competitive to the ones we have that were not even here.
"He is always a very competitive player, so I am not surprised but you always wonder how are you going to react on this stage and at this level.
"We saw the same with Amara Nallo, which is not a player that has the same impact in training sessions yet as James McConnell.
"That James plays and is competitive is not a surprise but he definitely deserves credit for his performance today."
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