Arne Slot has admitted James McConnell has earned a chance in the Liverpool first team after impressing against PSV in the Champions League. The Reds saw their 100 per cent record in Europe ended in Eindhoven as a much-changed side lost 3-2 to their Dutch hosts. But there were plenty of positives for Slot, who got a chance to look at his squad players after opting to leave 12 senior stars out of his travelling squad.

McConnell was chief among them as far as Slot was concerned, with the Liverpool boss revealing he would now like him to stay. He is due to meet with sporting director Richard Hughes on Thursday to discuss the final days of the window and which players could be allowed to leave on loan. Players like Jayden Danns, Tyler Morton and Trey Nyoni - who all featured on Wednesday night, could go out on loan for the second half of the season. “There’s always a chance in life. And at the moment we have most of our players fit so we will have this discussion tomorrow I think between me and Richard (Hughes) about these players,” Slot explained.

McConnell, 20, was initially included in that group, but Slot has now said his performance in the Netherlands had thrown a spanner in the works. Slot added: “But there’s definitely one that will not go out on loan: James McConnell. I liked him a lot today. Maybe the end result today would be good for him to go and play (elsewhere) but he is a player who hasn’t played a lot in the last six or seven months as he was injured for a while. He impressed me a lot today.

“He is competitive in the training sessions we had, he is always very competitive. I’m not surprised (by how he played), but you always wonder how you will react at this level. “James plays and is competitive. He definitely deserves credit for his performance today.”. Amara Nallo was another youngster to feature against PSV, but lasted just four minutes after he was shown a red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity. And Slot admitted that his dismissal was tough to see - but should serve as a learning curve for the 18-year-old.

He continued: “It is cruel, but he has never played first-team football yet and then to make your debut in the Champions League level is probably the hardest way. “I think he misinterpreted the situation and it’s immediately a problem at this level or Premier League level. “It is a big moment for him to learn from, and it is cruel when you think 10 minutes before the end, ‘I’m making my debut in the Champions League‘, but a few moments later you go off with a red card.”.

Liverpool took the lead at the Philips Stadium through a Cody Gakpo penalty against his former team, before the hosts equalised shortly after. Harvey Elliott put the Reds back in front, before two goals from PSV in first-half stoppage time gave them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Despite defeat, Barcelona ’s draw with Atalanta ensured Liverpool still topped the group phase. They will now skip the play-off round before facing one of Brest, Monaco, PSG or Benfica in the last 16.

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