LIVERPOOL ‘AGREE’ ARNE SLOT ‘COMPENSATION PACKAGE’ AS FABRIZIO ROMANO DROPS ‘HERE WE GO’ VERDICT
According to reports, Liverpool have ‘agreed’ a deal with Feyenoord so Arne Slot will head to Anfield as Jurgen Klopp’s replacement in the summer.
Liverpool have moved quickly to finalise a deal for Slot after it emerged a few days ago that he was their standout candidate to replace Klopp ahead of next season.
Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso was initially the overwhelming favourite to join Liverpool but FSG were made to look elsewhere after the Spaniard announced that he would stick with the Bundesliga giants for at least one more season.
The Premier League giants were being heavily linked with Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim but he has missed out as they have opted to appoint Slot.
The 45-year-old is renowned for his attacking style of play and he guided Feyenoord to their first Eredivisie title since 2017 last season. This term, they are second in the table but they have won the KNVB Cup.
“Here we go…”
It has been widely reported in recent days that an agreement between Liverpool and Feyenoord could be reached pretty quickly and it emerged that a deal was done on Friday night.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano tweeted: “Arne Slot will be new Liverpool head coach replacing Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season!
“Agreement sealed on compensation between Feyenoord and #LFC, all set also on contract details for Slot. Here we go.”
He later added: “Arne Slot will be the most expensive Dutch coach ever as Liverpool will pay compensation fee around €13-15m.
“Details will be completed on paperwork over the weekend.”
READ MORE: Five players Liverpool should discard/sell for the post-Jurgen Klopp era
A report from The Athletic added: ‘Liverpool and Feyenoord have agreed a compensation package that will allow Arne Slot to become Jurgen Klopp’s successor at Anfield.
‘The 45-year-old Dutchman is now free to join Liverpool in the summer after the conclusion to Feyenoord’s Eredivisie campaign.
‘The Athletic reported earlier this week that Liverpool had an opening offer of €9million (£7.7m, $9.6m) rejected by Feyenoord but the two parties have now reached an agreement.’
Pundit Graeme Souness has revealed his ‘greatest concern’ about Liverpool appointing Slot with decision makers at Anfield making a ‘brave move’.
‘My greatest concern if Arne Slot is the man to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool is not his relative inexperience, but more so the Dutch league he is coming from,’ Souness wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.
‘We only have to look at how Erik ten Hag has fared up the road at Manchester United to learn the pitfalls of a manager who puts his trust in players who were very good in the Eredivisie.
‘Ten Hag thought so much of his Ajax winger Antony that Man United paid £82million for him, and he has been a major disappointment. There are others at Old Trafford and beyond – Donny van de Beek, Andre Onana, Lisandro Martínez, Memphis Depay, Hakim Ziyech and Davy Klaassen, all players with big reputations who have not cut it in our league after starring in Holland.’
He added: ‘Slot has to look at all of the above and not make the same mistakes. There is enough evidence now to show what a huge leap it is from the Eredivisie to the Premier League.
‘If he is to succeed Klopp then it’s a brave move by the decision makers at Liverpool, but they’ve obviously done their homework and feel he’s the right man, even if their options were limited. Xabi Alonso was the only obvious candidate before he committed to Bayer Leverkusen.’
2024-04-26T20:39:30Z dg43tfdfdgfd