Liverpool have finalised the details of Arne Slot’s arrival and are preparing the club to receive the Dutchman, who is tying up loose ends at Feyenoord Rotterdam, from where he was appointed.
The Dutchman led the Eredivisie club to a second-placed finish with 84 points behind champions PSV Eindhoven, winning 26 games, drawing six and losing just four from 34 games. He was seen as the future of the club after helping to steady them in the three years he spent there. Liverpool’s pull was too strong, however.
Now, the 45-year-old is gearing up to lead the Reds into the new era and help the fans quickly move on from the settling nostalgia that the just concluded Jürgen Klopp era is bringing.
The club is also looking for backroom staff and players that will fit into the former AZ Alkmaar manager’s philosophy and direction for the club going forward.
While that is going on, the current Dutch contingent in the club is looking forward to working with their compatriot, having heard good things about him from their national team managers and friends in the Eredivisie.
Leading this contingent is captain Virgil Van Dijk, who hinted that he might be leaving the club alongside Klopp after the German announced his departure earlier in the year. Van Dijk is now committed to remaining just to work with Slot after speaking with him.
“I still have a year left on my contract. I am club captain and I have made it clear I am there for the new coach and enthusiastic over the next season,” Van Dijk said on Monday as the Netherlands began their training camp for the UEFA European Championship.
“Obviously, there will be a lot of changes but I am confident we will make a big success of it.”
“I congratulated him of course and I’m really pleased for him and his family. We spoke about the team and the future, but now my focus is fully on the national team.”
Ryan Gravenberch, who joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich in Klopp’s last season but failed to get as much minutes as he used to during his time at AFC Ajax Amsterdam, believes that Slot’s coming will boost his career at Liverpool.
“I think he can be good for my career, it’s a coach who wants to play good football,” said the 22-year-old midfielder at the training camp in the Netherlands.
Slot, meanwhile, has started getting heat despite being months away from his first Premier League match.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, whose career at Old Trafford is on the line, is attempting to get into his compatriot’s head before he steps his foot into a Premier League war zone. Ten Hag said that Slot’s time at Feyenoord which earned him the move to Liverpool was not worthy of the type of praise that he is getting despite being a “good guy”.
If ten Hag remains in England for one more season, fans can look forward to an exciting time with both managers, especially on the mic.
