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How Arne Slot moved into pole position for the Liverpool job as announcement imminent
It is just a matter of time now before Arne Slot is confirmed as Liverpool’s next manager, with everything agreed between both the clubs and the man himself.
For me, it is a very interesting appointment, and one which speaks both of the lack of truly outstanding candidates available at this stage, as well as Liverpool’s willingness to take a risk.
As soon as Jurgen Klopp announced his intention to step down, and even before then, the Reds were working round-the-clock to identify the right replacement. From the outset, they insisted that it would be a thorough and private process, led to a large degree by the club’s data department.
Xabi Alonso, I understand, was always considered a strong candidate, but Liverpool always felt there was a chance he would either choose to stay at Bayer Leverkusen or be tempted by a move elsewhere (Bayern Munich). As it happened, he went for the former option.
Ruben Amorim was strongly linked, and is understood to have shown up well during the due diligence process, but sources always insisted that the suggestion that he was a ‘preferred’ candidate was incorrect, and as I believe it, discussions never reached an advanced stage. The same can be said for any number of other candidates – Roberto De Zerbi, Gary O’Neil, Unai Emery.
Slot’s appeal is that he has achieved success at two different clubs, both of whom have punched above their weight with him as manager. He has not had huge sums to spend, or players on huge wages, and he has been able to stamp his authority on the team in terms of a clearly-defined style of play, as well as impressive communication skills. Those points all ensured he was eventually deemed ‘the one’, albeit in an imperfect field.
Why Slot won’t be another Erik ten Hag
My thoughts on Slot tally with my thoughts on Liverpool’s squad in general, if I’m being honest. I’m reasonably enthused by him, but I’m also aware that having a lot of ‘potential’ to talk about comes with the potential for disappointment too.
The fact that Slot has consistently had Feyenoord in a position to compete for, and win, trophies, is big positive. He has experienced title races, he has felt that pressure, he has been to a European final and felt the weight of expectation and scrutiny. That can only be a good thing, even if the demands, expectation, scrutiny and pressure will be far greater on Merseyside than in Rotterdam.
What should help him significantly, as opposed to say, Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, is that he is arriving into a club that has clear parameters in terms of its recruitment strategy, has a squad whose core is at the right age to develop and improve with good coaching, and which has Champions League football to look forward to. He has good, established executives working above him, and that should enable him to focus on what he is best at – coaching.
In terms of expectations, I think it will obviously be a challenge for him to ‘replace’ Klopp, but he has been left a good squad of players and a team that will break 80 points in the Premier League, and which has shown itself capable of competing with anybody on any given day. A top-four finish is essential, but if he can start well and if the club can get the right additions in over the summer, then there is no reason to put any kind of ceiling on Liverpool’s ambitions going forward. If Klopp taught them anything, it is that daring to dream is what football should always be about.
The table doesn’t lie – Liverpool look set to finish where they ultimately deserve to
If we want to take a cold-blooded look at Liverpool’s Premier League season, you’d say they ultimately ended up about where they should have.
Are they a better team than Manchester City? No, they’re not. Are they better than this Arsenal side? No, they’re not. They can beat either of them on their day, and just about anyone else too, but the brutal truth is that this is a side that scrapped its way into an unexpected title challenge, but one which ultimately didn’t quite have the tools to sustain it.
The frustration, of course, is that having done all that scrapping, and having over-delivered until March/April, they eventually fell short in games they would have expected to win. Beating Manchester United, Everton, West Ham and Crystal Palace should not have been beyond them, and Liverpool only needed to beat two of those to be right in the mix heading into these final games.
I reject completely the idea that Klopp’s mid-season announcement played any part in the failures of April. Firstly, how could he have kept a lid on such a story, given Liverpool would have needed to identify and appoint his successor?
And secondly, where were these hot takes when Liverpool were flying, winning the Carabao Cup despite an injury crisis, zooming to the top of the table and giving Manchester City hell, denied a vital victory only by a very questionable refereeing decision at Anfield? It is easy now to point and say Klopp’s exit has destabilised Liverpool, but it’s not true. What has cost them has been poor performances, and there were plenty of those even before he made his January announcement.
Liverpool want a young centre-back this summer – names to watch out for…
It is clear to me that Liverpool need to sign a centre-back this summer. The emergence of Jarell Quansah has been one of the big positives of this season, but the likely exit of Joel Matip in the summer and the fact that Joe Gomez has been used almost exclusively as a full-back for the past 18 months means that there is too much dependence on Virgil van Dijk, and on Ibrahima Konate, whose fitness record is questionable and whose form has been mixed in this campaign.
Another option there is essential, for my money. We know that Levi Colwill and Piero Hincapie are two players that have been admired in the past, and that Antonio Silva of Benfica is another. Recent links to Willian Pacho have substance, too.
I like Jarrad Branthwaite at Everton a lot, but I’d suggest that’s a no-go given the two clubs’ relationship! Personally, I’d be amazed if all of Europe’s top clubs are not looking at Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsi right now. He looks a superstar in the making, to me, and though the Catalans don’t tend to sell La Masia products, their messy financial situation might make it a little easier to force their hand here.
At 17, the sky is the limit for that lad.
Darwin Nunez could have interest but Liverpool won’t sell on the cheap
Firstly, I’d be amazed if Barcelona were willing to pay whatever it would take to sign Darwin Nunez this summer. They have huge issues to sort out behind the scenes, without committing that sort of money to a new No.9.
But from a Liverpool perspective, I think the Uruguayan is perhaps the most interesting case, heading into the summer window.
I’d keep him, personally. I think he has more upside than downside going forward – 31 goal involvements this season is, well, pretty decent, right?! – and I think he has the mentality to handle both the change of manager and the criticism that has come his way in recent weeks. He misses too many chances, I know, and there are times when he has to be tidier, smarter and more switched on within games. The fact that he has finished both of his two seasons on Merseyside on the bench shows there are still areas in need of big improvement.
But were Liverpool to look to sell, then I would expect considerable interest. Chelsea enquired about Nunez a year ago, and his reputation across Europe is still strong enough to ensure there would be clubs willing to take the plunge on him. He has the raw ability to be a very good centre-forward, and his ability to get himself into goalscoring positions so regularly means there will be lots of clubs and lots of coaches who will believe that they can be the one to unlock his true potential.
Maybe Arne Slot will be that guy?