Arne Slot is silencing the doubters: Liverpool look the real deal under new manager despite lack of transfer business

It's always foolish to read too much into friendlies, of course. At this time of the summer, when so many star men are still recovering from the effects of major international tournaments, top teams rarely field their first-choice XIs, and even when they do, it's never for more than 45 minutes.

However, just as problems can be exposed in pre-season, grounds for optimism can also be detected, and it would have been difficult for even the most cautious of supporters not to have been excited by what they saw of Slot's Liverpool during their tour of the United States.

The Reds beat Real Betis 1-0 in Pittsburgh before defeating Arsenal 2-1 in Philadelphia and then routing Manchester United 3-0 in Columbia. Three games, three wins, six goals scored, just one conceded - the numbers were impressive, but the performances even more so.

Liverpool by no means played 'Total Football' in each and every outing, but there were fantastic flashes of quality, encouragingly early evidence of what Slot's style is all about. The Reds were bold and brave on the ball, always looking to build from the back and beat the opposition press with swift exchanges of passes in the tightest of spaces deep inside their own half.

Some of the goals scored in the States were outstanding, with Liverpool displaying admirable patience in possession before tearing teams to shreds with sudden bursts of brilliance.

Hughes has already admitted that Slot was considered the ideal candidate to succeed Klopp because of their similar styles of play and, against Arsenal, we saw evidence of the devastating transitions that characterised the German's time at the helm. The game's opening goal felt like classic Klopp, with Liverpool turning defence into attack in a matter of seconds thanks to a measured pass from Caoimhin Kelleher and some fine one-touch football involving Diogo Jota and Harvey Elliott that resulted in Mohamed Salah racing away to score in familiar fashion.

Slot's influence was also evident beforehand, though, in the way in which Liverpool won possession in their own third but, rather than immediately looking to drive forward, they worked the ball back to Kelleher because of a lack of options up front - before then looking to get forward as quickly as possible.

It was a similar story against United, with Liverpool content to hold onto the ball at the back until an opening presented itself. The third goal was a perfect case in point, with Ryan Gravenberch, playing in a deeper midfield role, exchanging passes with the centre-halves before finding Elliott in between the lines.

On this occasion, the versatile Englishman required a second touch, but his involvement was no less decisive, as he quickly released Conor Bradley on the right wing, and the Northern Irishman's delightful one-two with Salah resulted in Kostas Tsimikas tapping home a rebound from Jota's low shot.

Slot himself acknowledged that Liverpool scored some "really nice goals" in the U.S., but it was interesting to note that he wasn't entirely happy with his side's performances. For example, the most resounding win may have come against United, but the former Feyenoord boss was unhappy with the amount of chances given up and felt that the final scoreline flattered his team.

Even more tellingly, Slot also lamented the fact that his side lost "control" of the contest at times, offering real insight into exactly what he hopes to achieve at Anfield.

The objective will clearly be to deprive opponents of as much possession as possible - which is an utterly unsurprising approach from a coach that has never hidden his admiration for Pep Guardiola's footballing philosophy.

For that reason, it has already been argued that Slot's style of play might be less punishing on the players than that of Klopp, whose relentless Reds were eventually worn down by the very approach that enabled them to overwhelm opponents. It's still very, very early days, of course, but the early signs are that Liverpool will look to tame teams - rather than throttle them.

It's well worth remembering that we've yet to see Slot's side at full strength. We still don't know exactly how he would like his team to line up against Ipswich Town on Saturday week, but pre-season couldn't have gone much better for the new coach.

The aforementioned Elliott looks ideally suited to Slot's system, which sees Liverpool adopt a 3-4-4 formation in possession, with the goalkeeper effectively serving as an auxiliary centre-back, while Salah appears back to his best after an injury-affected 2023-24 campaign.

Jarell Quansah, meanwhile, only strengthened the belief that Liverpool were 100 percent right to refuse even entertaining the idea of allowing the centre-back to join Newcastle in order to procure the services of Anthony Gordon. Intriguingly, Fabio Carvalho also suggested that he might yet have a future at Anfield, after netting against both Arsenal and United.

Players will have to be sold between now and the end of the window, though, that much is certain. The squad is too big as it stands. Liverpool took 28 players on their U.S. tour and have now been bolstered by the return of their remaining internationals.

It is inevitable, then, that there will be comings and goings in the final few weeks of August, and the strength of the signings could well determine just how high Liverpool can aim this season.

Patience will clearly be required on that front, while Slot will also need time to get to grips with the Premier League too. It would be unfair to expect too much, too soon. He's not arrived at Anfield with anything like the same CV as Klopp all the way back in October 2015, meaning some of the scepticism surrounding Slot's appointment is understandable.

He did fine work at Feyenoord, though, and what's already clear from pre-season is that his Liverpool side will be both competitive and compelling. Obviously not every doubter has suddenly become a believer, but the Slot has silenced quite a few of them, for now at least...