Liverpool head coach Arne Slot had the luxury of being able to withdraw two key players for Liverpool with more than half an hour still to play against West Ham on Sunday.
With the Reds 4-0 to the good by the 57th minute, the 46-year-old sensibly opted to call Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo ashore so that neither would pick up the yellow card which would’ve triggered a suspension for next weekend’s clash against Manchester United.
Slot had two more substitutions to make after that (Joe Gomez had earlier gone off through injury to be replaced by Jarell Quansah) and used them both with 16 minutes of normal time remaining as Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas entered the fray.
Some Liverpool fans might’ve been slightly disappointed that, given the comfortable circumstances, the Dutchman didn’t turn to a couple of youngsters who were available to him and hadn’t seen any Premier League football this season.
With Dominik Szoboszlai suspended, Federico Chiesa omitted from the matchday squad in favour of extra training, and Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate out injured, there was scope for Jayden Danns and James McConnell to be included among the substitutes.
There could’ve been a convincing case for the young duo to get a runout for the final few minutes at the London Stadium, but Slot opted not to call upon them despite the result being wrapped up well before full-time.
The 46-year-old may have had a valid reason not to just throw them in for the sake of it, though.
In recent days, The Athletic claimed that ‘regular senior football would be beneficial’ for their development of both Danns and McConnell ‘if the right club can be found’, which hinted that Liverpool may be looking to loan them out during the January transfer window if the circumstances are right.
Both players had been expected to leave Anfield temporarily in the summer before untimely injuries put paid to that plan, and both have had to rely almost entirely on under-21 action since then, with the recent Carabao Cup win over Southampton the only first-team fixture in which they’ve played this season.
Perhaps Slot was mindful of not wanting to bring them on against West Ham for fear that they’d incur another body blow which would’ve scuppered a potential loan exit next month and duly deprived them of senior opportunities in 2025.
It’d come as no surprise if there were Championship clubs knocking on Liverpool’s door for Danns and McConnell over the coming weeks, with the productive spells of Ben Doak and Lewis Koumas at Middlesbrough and Stoke respectively illustrating how the right choice of destination can prove greatly beneficial.
Of course, the level of depth available at Anfield might also play a part in the Reds’ thinking. Both youngsters were unexpectedly thrown into the fray in the early months of this year due to an injury crisis elsewhere in the sqaud, with the duo helping their team to Carabao Cup final glory in February.
Will they be loaned out in January? It seems a distinct possibility, if Slot’s decision not to give them a runout yesterday is anything to go by.
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