Arne Slot makes Jayden Danns transfer admission after Liverpool training ground experiment

Arne Slot makes Jayden Danns transfer admission after Liverpool training ground experiment

The youngster came off the bench to score in the 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley

Jayden Danns of Liverpool celebrates scoring his side's third goal during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Accrington Stanley at Anfield on January 11, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)

Arne Slot has backed Jayden Danns to have a ‘very good career’ after seeing him score in Liverpool’s 4-0 victory over Accrington Stanley, but has admitted he does not know if the striker will leave the Reds on loan in January. The 18-year-old came off the bench to score his third goal for the club to help them progress to the FA Cup fourth round.

After bursting into Jurgen Klopp’s first team last year, the striker had looked set to depart on loan in the summer only to end up staying put after an untimely injury.

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The teenager made his first team return off the bench against Southampton in the League Cup last month, before scoring his first senior goal of the season against Accrington.

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And while Slot does not know if Danns will leave on loan before the end of the month, he praised the striker’s mentality as he paid tribute to the club’s academy.

“The last thing (going out on loan in January), I don't know at the moment,” he said. “For us, it (today) was all about the players who hadn’t played that much yet, to give them playing time. And we gave some playing time to a few youngsters.

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“What I like most about him (Danns) and most of the academy players is the mentality they have.

“That is a big compliment to him and definitely a big compliment to our youth academy because if you are a youngster and come to the first team, sometimes you're used in a way you might not expect.

“Although it is common in football, you're playing with the other team that has to copy sometimes the team we face over here, sometimes you're in a different position.

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“He is a striker, but if we play 11-v-11 and I make the choice to play Jota and on the other side, Darwin is playing as a nine so he has to play as an 11 or a six or whatever position we need him. But he will, like all of the other academy players, give all he has. And James McConnell is also another perfect example of that.

“If that is your mentality, you can reach it and definitely get the most of your potential and that's what is going to happen with him.

“What his potential is, that probably needs some time to find out if he, in the end, will be a starter for us but he will have a very good career because of his mentality, I'm very sure of.”

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Meanwhile, Slot was also impressed by Accrington Stanley’s performance at Anfield, praising them for sticking their usual playing style despite coming up against Liverpool.

“First of all, credit to them, the way they showed themselves here today,” he said. “Before the game starts, you watch a few games of them and then you see they are not afraid to press high, not afraid to play 1v1.

“But then you always wonder if they will do this at Anfield as well but they definitely did. They were not afraid.

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“Their playing style is also when the goalkeeper has the ball to play it long, so that is not different, it’s not that they stole it from the team we played last week. This is just their style. They showed up in a very positive way.”

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