Liverpool close in Arne Slot as their next manager with talks developing quickly to take over from Jurgen Klopp – and the Dutchman could even be confirmed as soon as THIS WEEKEND
- Liverpool have opened talks with Feyenoord in the hope of signing Arne Slot
- Reds must pay damages of more than £10 million to land the Dutchman
- I don’t complain about playing too often. Why are managers insincere when it comes to player welfare? Listen to the It all starts podcast
Liverpool are closing in on Arne Slot as they work on a deal with Feyenoord to make him their next manager.
Anfield officials contacted the Dutch champions on Wednesday with an initial offer of compensation for the 49-year-old, who has no release clause in his contract.
It is expected that a fee of more than £10m will be needed to land Slot, who will look to bring some of his staff with him, including assistant Sipke Hulshoff.
The situation is developing quickly and Slot could even be confirmed before the weekend.
Mail Sport reported on Tuesday how Slot had emerged as Liverpool’s preferred candidate to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who has four games remaining at the club.
Liverpool have opened negotiations with Feyenoord about the takeover of head coach Arne Slot
Current Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season
Slot, who was considered by both Tottenham and Chelsea last summer, has enjoyed huge success since joining the Dutch squad in 2021 and has become one of the most progressive coaches in European football.
He recently guided his Feyenoord team to victory in the KNVB Cup; the second trophy he has won while in charge of the Rotterdam giants, having made them domestic champions 12 months ago.
His accolades in the Dutch side have made him an ideal candidate to succeed Klopp at Anfield and the Reds have now stepped up their hunt for the 45-year-old.
It should also be noted that Slot’s planned press conference, which provides a preview of Feyenoord’s match against Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday evening, has been cancelled. No official reason was given.
Slot is likely to bring his right-hand man Sipke Hulshoff to his next club, with Liverpool needing a massive rebuild of their coaching department after a number of high-profile members of Klopp’s trusted squad tried to follow him out the exit.
Klopp announced at the end of January that he would be leaving the club after almost nine years at the helm and he now has just five games left on Merseyside, including Wednesday’s trip through Stanley Park to Everton and Goodison Park.
The 45-year-old recently won the KNVB Cup and previously won the Eredivisie in 2022-2023
Initial reports suggested the Reds were considering a move for Xabi Alonsowho has done excellent work at Bayer Leverkusen.
But Alonso wanted to stay in Germany and that led Ruben Amorim to assume the bookmakers’ favoritism.
The Portuguese, who has a £12million buyout clause in his contract, recently spoke out about how he could not give Sporting Lisbon any guarantees about his future.
Liverpool had been firmly considering him, as they have done with Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, but they are now prepared to go in a different direction to Amorim, who is a target for West Ham United, as Mail Sport reported on Monday.