Liverpool finally CONFIRM Arne Slot will succeed Jurgen Klopp as their new manager… with the departing Feyenoord boss to officially start work next week on a three-year deal

Liverpool have confirmed that Feyenoord boss Arne Slot will succeed legendary outgoing manager Jurgen Klopp and take over as head coach from the start of next season on a contract believed to run until 2027.

Mail Sport reported last week how the 45-year-old Dutchman had emerged as Liverpool’s preferred candidate to replace Klopp after an exhaustive, data-driven search. The two clubs reached a verbal agreement three weeks ago.

Liverpool will pay around £7.7m as a base fee for Slot, which could rise to £9.4m with bonuses, and the Dutchman will bring at least three of his trusted lieutenants to Anfield as the Reds’ coaching team becomes fully revised. during the summer.

Klopp’s right-hand men Peter Krawietz and Pep Lijnders have also left the club, with the latter becoming manager of Red Bull Salzburg. Elite development coach Vitor Matos will follow Lijnders to Austria, while several other backroom staffers are leaving.

Slot, who won the Dutch Cup last month and the Eredivisie title last season, brings his trusted lieutenant Sipke Hulshoff to Anfield. He left his part-time job alongside Ronald Koeman in the Netherlands, which he combined with coaching Feyenoord.

Liverpool will pay around £7.7m as a base fee for Slot, which could rise to £9.4m with bonuses

Slot (photo), who won both the Eredivisie and the KVNB Cup with Feyenoord in the past two seasons, has been chosen as the man to succeed Klopp

Klopp will probably go down in history as one of Liverpool’s greatest ever managers, who won the Premier League, Champions League and Club World Cup at Anfield.

Performance head Ruben Peeters and analyst Etienne Reijnen are also among the staff who will bring Slot to Merseyside, as first revealed by Mail Sport.

Klopp told Mike Gordon, who ran football operations at owners Fenway Sports Group, of his wish to resign at the end of November. Liverpool then began a thorough, data-driven process to find a suitable replacement, even though Klopp’s departure was not public until January.

The club has since undergone a major overhaul, with Michael Edwards returning to the club as CEO of football at FSG and Bournemouth transfer chief Richard Hughes as sporting director. Julian Ward also returned to the club alongside Benfica’s Pedro Marques.

Will Spearman, Liverpool’s research director, influenced a recruitment process that included advanced data analysis, character research, market assessment and several other indicators.

Xabi Alonso emerged as the obvious frontrunner following Klopp’s departure announcement – although Liverpool never received any encouragement that the former midfielder would be willing to join Bayer Leverkusen. Ruben Amorim was considered, but Slot was preferred.

Slot’s ability to connect with its players is seen as one of its key strengths

Slot’s family threw a surprise party and the incoming Reds boss sang ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’

Jurgen Klopp delivered an emotional final speech to the Liverpool crowd on Sunday afternoon

The Dutchman, who had AZ Alkmaar on the brink of the league title before Covid ruined that season, was keen to take on the job. When Liverpool first approached his camp, including agent Rafaela Pimenta, the process was relatively quick.

Feyenoord turned down Liverpool’s initial offer, but Dutch sources suggested this was a matter of optics and that the Rotterdam club wanted to see them fight to keep Slot, even though he had expressed his desire to leave.

Liverpool’s hierarchy also noted that Slot performed significantly better. Before his arrival, Feyenoord was a club in disarray with only one league title in the 21st century. He returned them to one of the superpowers of the Netherlands.

He also favors a 4-2-3-1 system, which Liverpool believe is a factor that works in his favor as it suits the squad well and is not much different from the shape Klopp used to achieve so much success during his almost nine years on Merseyside.

Liverpool’s hierarchy have noted that Slot was performing significantly better before his arrival

The outgoing manager publicly endorsed Slot on Friday as ‘a good coach and a good guy’

Slot is expected to bring some of his backroom staff to the Merseyside club

He arrives with a team that fought on four fronts deep into the campaign within reach

Klopp publicly endorsed Slot last month as a ‘good coach and good guy’. Slot told Mail Sport in Rotterdam that he would be willing to pick up the phone and ask Klopp for advice, which is expected to happen when he officially starts at the club.

Slot was set to join Tottenham last summer, but that fell through following a last-minute change of heart from the manager, which he publicly stated was due to a lack of Champions League football. He was also in advanced talks with Leeds in 2023.

His first assignment is likely to be Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States – which includes three games in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Columbia – although it is not known whether the boss will ask if they want to play a few games in Europe first.