If there were any lingering doubts about whether Liverpool would be under the stewardship of a certain Dutch manager next season, Jurgen Klopp ended those pretty emphatically as he led the Anfield crowd on a chorus of ‘Arne Slot’.
As welcomes go, this was a pretty stirring one.
Liverpool then took the rather sensible if somewhat moot decision less than 24 hours later of confirming that, yes, the man who’s name Klopp was bellowing for all of Merseyside to hear would indeed be stepping into his shoes on the touchline for 2023/24.
Arne Slot, the man who ended Feyenoord’s five-year wait for an Eredivisie title in 2022/23 and also led them to the final of the Europa Conference League, finally gets his shot at the Premier League after previous discussions with Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp announces Arne Slot at Liverpool
Of course, Liverpool supporters do not have to look far to see what can go wrong when attempting to move on from a legendary head coach.
But Robin van Persie, who has watched Slot’s teams closely in the Netherlands, feels the former AZ Alkmaar boss is well placed to continue Klopp’s legacy while staying clear of the sort of issues which plagued David Moyes at Manchester United and Unai Emery at Arsenal.
“I think (Slot is) very good, very good,” Van Persie, the legendary Gunners and Red Devils striker, tells ESPN. “How he wants to play is in line with Klopp’s style of play and what they are used to there. I expect them to do very well.
Slot, before winning the Eredivisie with Feyenoord, took an unfancied AZ to the brink of glory, only the termination of the 2019/20 campaign due to the COVID pandemic killing that particular dream. Slot’s teams tend to be extremely high-pressing – forcing the most turnovers in Europe – possession-orientated and pretty ruthless in the final third.
Feyenoord reached the pinnacle of the Slot era in April when they smashed Klassiker rivals Ajax 6-0 in front of a disbelieving De Kuip.
“Liverpool is one of the nicer clubs in England,” adds Van Persie, who will begin his own coaching journey next season with Heerenveen. “I have been able to play for two other very nice clubs.
“Slot has already been able to practice well at Feyenoord in that rhythm. But there (in the Premier League) it moves very hard and fast for eleven to 11-and-a-half months a year. It is a very nice, new opportunity for him.
“I believe it will go very well.”
Like Klopp in personality and style
HITC understands that at least three of Slot’s Feyenoord favourites have been identified as players capable of joining him at Liverpool. There is interest in the left-sided centre-half David Hancko, the physically-imposing Mats Wieffer, and box-crashing midfielder Quinten Timber.
“(The Liverpool bosses) get a lot right. So you have to put a lot of trust in them,” ex-Anfield midifelder Danny Murphy told talkSPORT (24 April, 11am).
“(Slot) supposed to be quite a bubbly, funny guy. He’s not a subdued-type of guy, which (makes him) more similar to Klopp than some of the other guys.
“I have been looking at how his team plays,” Murphy adds. “It’s front-foot stuff. Good, attacking football. He won the league within two years at Feyenoord.
“The most interesting bit was the turnovers. the highest in all seven leagues over the last season. Liverpool were second! So maybe they’re looking at some similarities around energy, attacking football
“The other thing is they’ve got a great stat about coming back from losing positions. I don’t know if that’s a good thing! But it shows resilience.”
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