Darren Bent says Arne Slot’s ‘brutal management’ is seriously bad news for Liverpool summer signing 

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Liverpool just got over the line against Burnley this past weekend, but Darren Bent believes that a brutal decision by Arne Slot could be a bad sign for one of the new summer signings.

Slot’s men defeated Burnley 1-0 after a last-minute Mohamed Salah penalty, but one of the biggest talking points came from the first half.

Slot controversially replaced Milos Kerkez due to being on a yellow card for simulation, with the Liverpool boss opting not to risk having him sent off after he committed another foul soon after.

Andy Robertson replaced Kerkez in the 38th minute and had a solid display at left-back, but Bent believes the substitution is a warning to the Liverpool squad.

Darren Bent believes Arne Slot is ‘not scared’ to make brutal substitutions

Substitutions in the first half of football matches are scarce outside of injuries, but Slot’s drastic decision wasn’t one he took lightly, and his history proves he’s happy to make those calls.

When discussing the matter on talkSPORT, Bent recalled Slot replacing Jarell Quansah at half-time against Ipswich Town last season, highlighting that the Liverpool boss is happy to swap players regardless of the time.

“I’ve played in games before, and this is before VAR, and the crowd can influence the decision because they’re on the referee’s case every single time.

“First of all, the dive, so they’re baying for blood anyway, then every single challenge he makes when he misstimes it, the crowd are going to be on it.

“The players are going to be in the referee’s ear, ‘How many times are you going to let him get away with it?’

“So, it was the smart thing to do, to take him off because you don’t want to run that risk, you don’t need to run that risk. It’s brutal management.

“What’s funny about Arne Slot, he set out his stall the very first game he got there. I remember doing the Ipswich Town game vs. Liverpool, and Quansah’s first-half was having an absolute torrid [time].

“[Liam] Delap was running him, he kept running down that side and getting opportunities. The first thing he did at half-time was get him off, dragged him off, and put Konate on.

“He’s not scared to make that type of decision, so I think it’s really good management.”

Andy Robertson will push Milos Kerkez this season

Liverpool signed Kerkez in the summer transfer window, with the aim of making him Anfield’s new first-choice left-back.

However, after a rocky start to life under Slot, there’s no guarantee that he’ll retain that position, as Robertson has proven he’s still got plenty of gas in the tank.

Robertson impressed for Scotland on international duty, and the fact that Slot was happy to bring him on so quickly against Burnley showcases that he’s aware that the 31-year-old can still play long spells for Liverpool.

The experienced full-back isn’t going to take becoming a squad player lightly, and that means that Kerkez will need to be at his absolute best to ensure he’s regularly in the starting line-up.