Arne Slot is looking increasingly likely to be announced as Liverpool’s next manager soon, and Jurgen Klopp has spoken glowing about his likely successor at Anfield.
Back in January, Klopp confirmed that he was leaving at the end of the season, in a decision that caused shockwaves around the football world.
Since then, Liverpool have been working on finding the 56-year-old’s replacement in the Anfield dugout, with Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim seeming coming and going as targets.
Now, it looks as though Feyenoord manager Slot is all but certain to be the Reds’ next boss, even admitting that he wants the job in a recent interview.
Speaking to the media ahead of Liverpool’s trip to West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday [via This Is Anfield], Klopp adorsed the Dutchman as his successor:
“What I would like about it, if he is the one, is that he wants to take the job – come on, let’s go, excited. I like the way his team plays football. All the things I hear about him as a guy, good guy. Some people I know know him, I don’t, but some people tell me he’s a really good guy.
“So good coach, good guy, looking forward for the club if he’s the solution. It’s not up to me to judge, but it all sounds really good to me.”
Our thoughts on Slot becoming Liverpool’s new manager…
While it is clearly sad to see Klopp leaving this summer, he has looked a tired figure in recent weeks, summing up why he used fatigue as a reason for wanting to move on at the of the campaign.
The hope is that Slot brings new ideas and tactics to the team, being handed a very talented squad capable of fighting across four different competitions this season.
Replacing Klopp is bordering on an impossible task, and there is going to be immediate pressure on the 45-year-old to get results, but the hope is that FSG and Michael Edwards have identified him as the best possible option for a reason.
Slot has already won the Eredivisie title with Feyenoord, clinching glory in the 2022/23 season, and last Sunday, he won the Dutch Cup.
That bodes well moving forward and it will be fascinating to see how he fares at Liverpool, assuming he gets the job.
