Arne Slot's behaviour on team bus hints at Liverpool plan for unhappy Reds ace

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has already demonstrated his ability to manage disgruntled players, employing a technique that has been described as 'worth its weight in gold'. Last week, he confessed that Italian star Federico Chiesa was discontented after being left out of his Champions League squad. The forward won't be donning the Liverpool jersey during the league phase, with Slot favouring young prodigy Rio Ngumoha over the Italy international.

Despite scoring the decisive goal for the Reds on opening day against Bournemouth last month, Chiesa has seen less than 50 minutes of playtime in total, despite featuring in all four of Liverpool's initial league matches. Had the Reds managed to secure Marc Guehi on deadline day, Chiesa might have made the cut. This is due to new recruit Giovanni Leoni, who isn't eligible for Liverpool's homegrown spot, potentially being sidelined instead as Slot wouldn't have required an additional defender.

Ultimately, Chiesa fell foul of Slot's judgement and the Dutch manager conceded ahead of Sunday's win over Burnley that the decision had caused frustration.

"Of course, that is one of the most difficult things you have to do as a manager," admitted Slot.

"For a player not to play, it is not always easy to tell them but not to be in the squad is always more difficult. I just explained to him why we made this choice. Of course, he wasn't happy with that.

"I think he understood my arguments. That is not to say he agreed with them. He didn't tell me, by the way, that he didn't agree with them!

"But he gave me the answer you want to hear from a player, that he will be there to help the team in the cups and in the league.

"That's one thing to say but I think he also showed this because he wasn't selected but he worked really hard these days to be ready for the upcoming days. That is even more important than what a player tells you."

Panathinaikos striker Cyriel Dessers reckons Slot has the experience to handle such delicate situations, with his man-management expertise likely to stop any tensions spiralling out of control.

Dessers previously found himself in a similar predicament when Slot made the controversial call to axe his key striker at Feyenoord. However, he successfully transformed the forward's mindset through a candid discussion on the team bus, which ultimately proved crucial.

"When I was at Feyenoord, there was a match Arne Slot started with Bryan Linssen instead of me against Heerenveen and I was so disappointed," said Dessers.

"I came on 10 minutes before the end. It was freezing cold, the match was already over, nobody really wanted to go forward. I came on with a really poor attitude because I was so disappointed that I wasn't allowed to start.

"After the match, Slot sat next to me on the bus. I've had managers who got angry in such a situation. But he actually said in a very normal and calm way that he understood how I felt.

"He also explained why he had made his choice. I apologised, he said again that he could imagine my emotions. I walked back to the back of that bus and felt like it was out of my system.

"I still think back to that one conversation sometimes. There, Arne proved to me that he is not only a good manager, but also a good person. I sometimes miss that empathy in football with the media, with the fans too, who sometimes forget that a player is only human.

"The world of football is hard, sometimes unreasonable. So it's worth its weight in gold if you have a manager who treats you normally, honestly and with understanding."

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