Arne Slot admits he had to talk Liverpool's unlikely hero into staying at club in summer

Arne Slot has revealed that goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros wanted to leave the club on loan this summer before he convinced him to stay.

made himself a hero on Saturday after replacing the injured during away to . Jaros, 23, was only named on the bench because of second-choice shot-stopper Caoimhin Kelleher was ill.

Having been on Liverpool's books since 2017, the Czech talent spent the second half of last season on loan at Austrian side Sturm Graz, making 21 appearances and helping them win an historic league-cup double. Jaros wanted to return to Austria over the summer but Slot and other Liverpool chiefs intervened.

"It was very good to see with Caoimh being sick yesterday, our third goalkeeper got this performance in," the Reds manager told after Jaros played the final 17 minutes at Selhurst Park and made a number of interventions.

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"[It's] always nice for a team that everyone is involved in the results. [He handled it] really good. He had a very good season last season, he won the league and cup where he was in Austria.

"We trust him a lot. He wanted to go [back this season] because he wanted to have playing time again. We said at a club like this, we also need a very good third goalkeeper as well. Today proves we were right, and maybe for him, it was a nice moment for him to make his debut for Liverpool."

Before joining Strum Graz in January, the 23-year-old signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool. Jaros' move to Graz was his fourth loan spell away from Anfield, with his first coming at Irish outfit St Patrick's Athletic in 2021.

Get involved! Who should play in Liverpool's next match - Caoimhin Kelleher or Vitezslav Jaros? Have your say in the .

He then joined bid to earn promotion from the , playing 15 games in the second half of the 2021-22 campaign as they suffered play-off heartache. The following season, Jaros linked up with newly-promoted in , playing 13 games before losing his starting place.

Jaros could get the nod for Liverpool's first game after the international break, a home match in the against . That fixture marks the beginning of a nightmare run of fixtures for Slot's side, who'll face , , twice, , , , , , , and before December 14.

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