Liverpool has a new head coach, and his name is Arne Slot. Now we can start to think about the summer. Several stars have already been linked with moves to Anfield to join him.
Slot was hired by the club yesterday, and he will be replacing Jürgen Klopp, who resigned on Sunday after a very emotional show. He will now have to lead Liverpool into a new era with the help of the club’s new sports director, Richard Hughes.
That means he will have to make some big choices about his present team and bring in some new players to make them stronger before their first season. Before he even gets to Merseyside on June 1, Slot is already being linked to a load of names.
New names have been linked to a move to Anfield, and PSV Eindhoven forward Johan Bakayoko is one of them. The Reds are apparently interested in Bakayoko before the summer. Slot will know the player well from his time in the Eredivisie.
According to Sacha Tavolieri, a Belgian journalist, Liverpool has been interested in the 21-year-old player since March 2023. Chief scout Barry Hunter and Slot himself have given their approval. That’s not all—the Reds could get him for less than PSV’s $54m (£43m/€50m) price tag.
Who is Bakayoko, though? We learned more about the man and his job history.
Early life: Bakary Sakakolo was born in Belgium in 2003 to a mother from Rwanda and a father from Ivory Coast. He can play for any of those three countries. He decided to play for the country where he was born, and he has played at every age level except the U18s since he was an U15.
As a young player, he played for Belgian team OH Leuven before going on to Club Brugge. After that, he was picked up by Mechelen and Anderlecht in Antwerp. He then moved to the Netherlands to join PSV.
Bakayoko worked his way up through the club’s ranks. It was his play for the U21s team, where he scored 20 goals and set up 16 others in 57 games, that got him a spot on the first team.
PSV’s history
Bakayoko played his first game for PSV as an adult player in a KNVB Cup quarterfinal against NAC Breda in February 2022. He had been on the bench earlier in the season in the Eredivisie. He has become a regular on the first team since then.
He would only play four times for his senior team in the last few months of that season. The next year, he would play 33 times and score seven goals and set up five others.
He would get even better in the 2023–24 season, when he scored 14 goals and set up 14 others in 48 games across all competitions. This helped PSV win the Eredivisie title, seven points ahead of Feyenoord of Slot.
International work
Bakayoko has played 10 times for Belgium. His first game was against Sweden in March 2023. He marked the event by setting up a goal in a 3-0 win.
Only one goal has been scored for his country. It was against Estonia in June 2023 in a Euro 2024 qualifier. Belgium hasn’t named its team for the tournament yet, but Bakayoko is likely to make it to Germany. Liverpool fans will be keeping a close eye on his progress, no doubt.
Style of play
Bakayoko is a winger who plays from the right side and shoots with his left foot. Sense a pattern?
If Liverpool signed the 21-year-old, he would play alongside Mohamed Salah or even take Salah’s place if he leaves Anfield this summer.
Like Salah, he likes to cut inside and shoot with his stronger foot. He can also whip in passes from the right for his teammates, though. His skill with the ball is probably his best quality. Bakayoko’s balance and speed make it easy for him to move and keep the ball.
It will be interesting to see if Liverpool tries to sign the Belgian player this summer. It’s possible that Slot will sign him as one of his first players at Anfield.