- Arne Slot has been linked with a transfer to Premier League club Liverpool where he could take over from Jurgen Klopp at the end of this season
- Liverpool had earlier showed interest in Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim but it seems the man who will be replacing Klopp is Slot
- The Feyenoord manager is a big fan of Pep Guardiola and previously cited him as his role model
Arne Slot is the man the football world is currently focusing on. The Feyenoord manager has been linked with a transfer to Premier League club Liverpool where he could take over from Jurgen Klopp at the end of this season. Klopp had earlier announced that he will be taking a break from coaching because he is ‘running out of energy’.
Liverpool had earlier showed interest in Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim but it seems the man who will be replacing Klopp is Slot. To help you know more about the 45-year-old who has admitted that he wants the Liverpool manager, here are four facts about Arne Slot.
1. Admires Pep Guardiola
Arne Slot is the manager likely to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool at the end o this season. Photo/ Vanguard News.
The British press dubbed Arne Slot the Dutch Pep Guardiola even before he was identified as Liverpool’s next boss. According to reports, Slot is a big fan of Pep Guardiola and has previously cited the Manchester City boss as his role model.
Speaking about Guardiola in a past interview Slot praised his ability to transform players to be better. “Players always look very good under him. And the same players seem worse with managers before and after him.” The Feyenoord manager told Algemeene Dagblad (AD) last year, as per SuperSport.
2. Previously Linked To Tottenham Hotspur
Liverpool are not the first English Premier League club to show interest in Arne Slot. The Dutchman was one of the managers Spurs wanted to hire after the sacking of Antonio Conte last year.
Daniel Levy and his team parted ways with Conte in March 2023, sixteen months after he had replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in the hotseat. Spurs finished the season without a permanent boss and were close on sealing a deal with Slot before the Feyenoord manager decided to end the negotiations when they were close to agreeing terms of contract.
Slot said that he decided to continue is stay at Feyenoord mainly because he wanted to be in the UEFA Champions League. Feyenoord’s Champions League campaign started on a high note with a 2-0 victory over Celtic. However, they never proceeded to the knockout stages after finishing third on the group that also had Atletico Madrid and Lazio.
3. Style Of Play
One thing that Liverpool fans would like to know about Arne Slot is his style of play. Like Jurgen Klopp, Slot is a huge fan of the pressing game. This has led to his team winning the ball back faster before the opponents settle with it. According to SportsBrief, Feyenoord had made 722 interceptions, compared to Liverpool’s 706 prior to midweek fixtures.
Slot is also known for his fierce work ethic and watches every training session of his team. He tells his players to ensure they work twice as hard as their opponents on the pitch and create as many chances as them.
Also, the Dutchman is keen on the defending of his team. As of the time of writing, his team boasts the second-best defence in the Eredivisie only behind league leaders PSV Eindhoven. Feyenoord have conceded just 23 goals since the start of this season.
Arne Slot. Photo/ Eurosport.
Another good news to Liverpool fans about Slot’s style of play is he’s a penchant for the 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formation, which are very familiar at Anfield.
4. Arne Slot Played As An Attacking Midfielder
Just like a good number of managers in the football world, Slot was also a professional footballer. The 45-year-old started his football journey at VV Bergentheim and later moved to FC Zwolle where he made his senior debut. He would later play for clubs in the Netherlands such as NAC Breda, Sparta Rotterdam and PEC Zwolle before ending his career in 2012.
According to his former coach Jan Everse, many people thought that he was “lazy and phlegmatic” but that was wrong.
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