‘Mentality has nothing to do with age’ – Slot sends message after Salah exit

It’s an important point because replacing Salah and Robertson individually already feels almost impossible, never mind replacing their combined influence around the training ground.

It feels like a moment of transition as we await the exit of a group of players who have made over 1500 appearances for us.

The Egyptian leaves behind one of the greatest Liverpool careers ever seen, while the Scotland captain helped redefine what supporters expect from a modern full-back during the Jurgen Klopp era.

Klopp himself recently admitted his emotional reaction to Salah’s exit, saying: “Mo, it was an absolute honour to work with you.”

Liverpool looking for new leaders

Slot also referenced Paris Saint-Germain’s younger squad as proof mentality comes from personality rather than age.

The 46-year-old said: “I think recently, we have quite a good example of players that are not that old – the ones of Paris Saint-Germain – but definitely have the standards for what it takes to win a game of football.”

He continued: “For me, mentality has absolutely nothing to do with age, but more with personal character of a player or the personality of the player.”

While Liverpool may lose huge experience this summer, the opportunity is now there for others to step forward.

Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch all look capable of taking on even greater responsibility, while Florian Wirtz has already shown signs of personality despite only arriving this season.

Slot ended with a clear message of confidence in the current squad.

“We also have a lot of players – maybe all of them – that have the right mentality to play for this club.”