Arne Slot has revealed that Liverpool will now consider retaining the services of young midfielder James McConnell after he "impressed" against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
With Liverpool having already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, Slot decided to leave 12 of his senior stars at home and named a youthful squad for their final League Phase fixture in the Netherlands.
A much-changed Reds side included 20-year-old McConnell, who was handed his Champions League debut and first start of the season under Slot as the Merseysiders lost 3-2 against PSV.
Although Liverpool's perfect European record has come to an end, they still finished top of the 36-team Champions League table, and Slot has taken plenty of positives from his team's performance, with McConnell among those who took advantage of being handed a chance to impress.
Slot has admitted that the level of McConnell's performance could now see him stay at Anfield rather than move on loan before the winter transfer window closes on February 3.
The Dutchman is set to hold talks with Liverpool's sporting director Richard Hughes on Thursday to discuss which players will be allowed to leave the club on loan in the final few days of the window.
© Imago
Slot to hold talks over future of Liverpool youngsters including McConnell
"At the moment we have most of our players fit, so we will have this discussion tomorrow, me and [sporting director] Richard [Hughes], about these players," Slot told reporters.
"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.
"Maybe now the end result today would be good for him to go somewhere and play, but he was also a player that hasn't played a lot in the last six or seven months because he was injured for a while. He impressed me a lot today.
"He is competitive in the training sessions we had, he is always very competitive. I'm not surprised (by how he played), but you always wonder how you will react at this level.
"James plays and is competitive. He definitely deserves credit for his performance today."
While McConnell may have persuaded Slot to keep him in Liverpool's first-team squad, the future of other youngsters including Jayden Danns, Tyler Morton and Trey Nyoni - who also played against PSV - remains uncertain, with all three in contention to leave on loan.
Oliver Thomas
