Michael Edwards has been told Arne Slot is determined to land the job as the next Liverpool manager having agreed to leave Feyenoord this summer and subject to the two clubs agreeing compensation – while a Dutch football expert has promised the Reds of what to expect if the 45-year-old takes charge.
The Reds are stepping up their quest to land on the successor to Jurgen Klopp, who will walk away into the Majorcan sunset, where he owns a luxury villa, once the current season comes to an end. The German will depart Anfield as one of the most successful and enduringly-popular managers in their history, having led Liverpool to seven trophies in his eight and a half year stint at the helm.
And while Klopp and his squad are fully focused on winning Wednesday’s Merseyside derby to close the gap on leaders Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, behind the scenes Liverpool are putting their foot on the gas in terms of landing on the 54-year-old’s successor.
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CEO of football, Edwards, is leading Liverpool‘s hunt and he hopes it will be a case of third-time lucky. He saw links to Xabi Alonso batted away by the Spaniard, who decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for at least one more season, while the Reds quickly cooled their initial interest in Ruben Amorim having decided against a move for the 39-year-old Sporting CP coach.
However, after it was reported on Tuesday that the interest in Amorim was only a smokescreen for Slot, Liverpool have quickly advanced in their efforts to land on the Dutchman.
Next Liverpool manager: Compensation figure needed for Slot revealed
Indeed, while Slot does not have an exit clause in his deal, compensation on a deal that runs to summer 2026 will need to be negotiated. To that end, reports on Wednesday lunchtime revealed Liverpool’s first offer for Slot has been knocked back.
However, the good news for the Reds is that Slot is seemingly determined to take charge at Anfield and, with that message communicated to Feyenoord chiefs, talks are now underway at securing his release.
Discussing what price Liverpool will likely need to fork out, Sky Sports News‘ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol provided an update.
“As things stand, no deal has been agreed to make Arne Slot the next Liverpool manager. But the direction of travel and all the signs point to, is that Slot IS going to Anfield,” he stated.
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“The reason for that is we’ve been reporting that negotiations have started between the two clubs – and relations between the two clubs are very good – and these talks would not have started unless there was an indication that Slot wanted to come to Liverpool, because otherwise it would be too disruptive to Feyenoord’s season that these negotiations had started.
“I think he wants to come because it is a massive job; it’s a massive honour for any football manager to follow in the footsteps of Jurgen Klopp, so I think what needs to happen now is that compensation needs to be agreed between the two clubs.
“Slot does not have a release clause in his contract but we believe that a fee of around £9m will probably be enough for a deal to be done. Now £9m might sound like a lot of money – and I think that might be a record amount for a manager, though I’ll have to check that (!) – though in the grand scheme of things, managers, head coaches are so important for clubs.
“And when you see clubs spending £100m on players, it’s probably worth clubs spending £9m to make sure you get the right man as a manager.”
Arne Slot to bring ‘crazy, sexy football’ to Liverpool
Solhekol added: “I think as far as Liverpool are concerned – and we should not jump the gun as no deal has been done as yet – he ticks a lot of boxes when they look at the kind of manager they want to succeed Klopp.”
Speaking to Sky Sports, Marcel van der Kraan, a Dutch football journalist, has revealed exactly what has attracted Edwards to Slot and has explained he will bring with him an exciting brand of football to Anfield.
“He is the prime candidate for Liverpool,” Van der Kraan revealed. “It was only a matter of time before another big English club would come knocking on the door. He’s not only been a successful manager, he’s also been hugely impressive with his playing style of very attack-minded, Pep Guardiola-style football.
“I don’t expect Feyenoord to stand in the way. They know he’s a manager in demand but they will demand a big compensation fee. He has two years left on his contract that was a record deal.
“Never before in Dutch football has a team paid a manager such huge wages. The players like him, the fans love him, the club love him – they won’t want him to go. Feyenoord have every right to demand a big fee as there is no clause in his contract which he renewed last year.
“He’s been a successful coach and made Feyenoord champions playing crazy, sexy football. It is sexy what this man brings on a football pitch. There’s nothing more to win for him here. The next step for him is to enter a club in a big league and no league is bigger for the Dutch than the Premier League. I will be surprised if Slot doesn’t bite at this chance and become the manager of Liverpool next season.”
Feyenoord coach is the ‘perfect fit’
European football expert Andy Brassell, also speaking to Sky Sports News, believes Slot is the perfect successor to Klopp and insists his tactics will quickly win supporters over.
“Slot is a guy who has got a consistent record of success and playing attacking football over several years. That idea of redeveloping teams and working with younger players as well is something that really appeals to Liverpool.
“The way he wants to attack would really appeal to Liverpool fans, too. He always wants his teams to find a way to put pressure on the opposition, to press, to score goals, and they do that in Europe as well.
“No one is quite like Jurgen Klopp in front of the media, but Slot is no shrinking violet at all. We’ve seen this when his side have played Roma and he’s come up against Jose Mourinho. He’s not afraid to upset and won’t back down.
“Premier League clubs have known he would fit in well for quite a while. The Premier League has moved more towards possession and front-foot football, so it’s probably the right time for Slot. Of course, there’s a gap in quality compared to the Eredivisie, but he’ll have better players at his disposal in the Premier League.”
Slot has taken charge of 146 matches with Feyenoord, claiming victories in 94 of them to give him a win percentage record of 64.38%.
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