Ex-Everton ace who Slot once wanted to sign wouldn’t ‘say no to Liverpool’

One former Everton player who previously came close to signing for Arne Slot has suggested that he wouldn’t turn down a move to Liverpool if the opportunity were to arise.

Arnaut Danjuma spent last season on loan at the Toffees from Villarreal, but had things transpired differently, he could’ve ended up at Feyenoord under the current Reds boss.

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Speaking to De Voetbalkantine (via FC Update), the 27-year-old – who’s now been loaned out to Girona – said: “[In 2023] Feyenoord had shown a bit more interest in me. That was mainly when Arne Slot was the coach there.

“I considered it at the time and spoke to Slot. I am a fan of his style of play and have a lot of confidence in him as a coach, but I thought at the time that it was not the right step for me. I think Girona is also a good step now, which suits my career.”

When pressed about the possibility of playing for Slot at Liverpool, Danjuma replied: “As a player you have to be ambitious and if a big club comes, you should always consider it. I don’t think there will be many people sitting at the table there who would say no to Liverpool.”

Although Danjuma was only on loan at Everton rather than signing permanently, it’d still raise a few eyebrows if he were to join Liverpool in the future – Conor Coady is the only player in modern times to appear for both teams, and he too was a Goodison Park loanee who featured just twice for the Reds’ first team.

Andy Lonergan has been on the books at both Merseyside clubs in the past five years but never played a competitive first-team fixture for either (Transfermarkt).

The Girona forward – whose four appearances against LFC have all been for different clubs (and all ended in defeat) – may have been on Slot’s wanted list at Feyenoord last year, but it’s hard to see where he’d fit into the current Anfield squad.

Liverpool already have six high-quality forwards competing for three starting berths, and unless a major injury crisis were to decimate the forward line, or a couple of the incumbent players were to leave, Danjuma would likely struggle to get into the starting XI.

A return of 12 goals since the start of the 2022/23 season just isn’t enough to seriously threaten the likes of Mo Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz for a place in the Reds’ line-up. It may require a dramatic shifting of circumstances for the ex-Everton loanee to line out for their Merseyside rivals.

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