More than thirty days have passed since Jürgen Klopp declared his intention to leave his position as manager of Liverpool.
Many managers have been linked to the position as his successor, but it looks that Arne Slot will be in the Anfield dugout for the upcoming campaign.
According to BBC Sport, Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement for the Dutchman, and contract negotiations will soon begin.
Liverpool’s poor title prospects were dashed by the stalemate with West Ham and the loss in the Merseyside derby, so it has been a challenging week.
Even though championship rivals Arsenal distanced themselves even more on Sunday, there was some positive news.
With the Gunners’ victory against Tottenham in the north London derby, Liverpool’s spot in the Champions League for the following season is all but guaranteed.
After last season’s disappointment, earning a spot in Europe’s top competition was crucial, and Slot will be going up against the best the following season.
Earlier in the season, his Feyenoord team lost in the Champions League group stage. Along with newly appointed sporting director Richard Hughes, Slot will have to make some significant decisions in the upcoming months over the futures of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Salah and Klopp’s altercation at West Ham gave rise to new rumors about whether Salah would be able to walk away this summer. The Mirror also claims that with Klopp leaving, captain Van Dijk may come to a crossroads at Anfield.
The legendary Robbie Fowler of Liverpool feels that the players have been affected by Klopp’s departure and that his successor will need to rally them fast this summer.
In his Mirror column, he adds, “He’s done OK at Feyenoord the last couple of seasons, but only time will tell if he can take Liverpool to greater heights than Klopp managed.”
“That will be a difficult task, but Liverpool’s main concern right now is restoring some stability to players who are already feeling the impact of Jürgen’s impending departure. After almost nine years of Klopp leading Liverpool, all of a sudden things are about to change.
Considering that Sporting CP manager Rúben Amorim has been strongly linked to Liverpool in recent weeks, Fowler acknowledges that the possibility of Slot’s appointment took him entirely by surprise. “To be honest, I had no idea Slot was even a topic of discussion among the influential individuals who oversee Liverpool,” he continued.
He didn’t strike me as a particularly strong contender. To be honest, I had no prior knowledge of Slot or his style of play, so like many others, I immediately looked him up on Google.”
Liverpool.com says: It is going to be a huge summer for Liverpool and Slot, if his appointment is finalized as expected. Some big decisions will need to be made but Fowler is right, he needs to re-energize the squad from the off. Many have only ever played under Klopp and will certainly be impacted by his exit.
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