Jamie Carragher says Liverpool’s choice of Arne Slot demonstrates the lack of “top managers” currently available.
Liverpool in talks with Feyenoord to appoint Slot as successor to Jurgen Klopp, who will step down at the end of the season.
The Dutch champions turned down Liverpool’s opening offer of £7.75million, with a fee closer to £9million expected to be enough to secure the 45-year-old.
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Sky Sports News senior reporter Melissa Reddy says negotiations between Liverpool and Feyenoord for coach Arne Slot’s job are moving quickly and admits the Dutch club will not stand in his way or deny him the chance to become successor by Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool were strongly linked with Xabi Alonso until their former midfielder announced that he was staying at Bayer Leverkusen.
Sports boss Ruben Amorim – who is a candidate for West Ham in the event of David Moyes’ departure – and that of Brighton Roberto DeZerbi were also reportedly considered by Liverpool.
Thomas Tuchel And Xavier will also be available this summer when they leave Bayern Munich and Barcelona respectively, but Liverpool appear to have focused their intentions on Slot.
Talk to Aerial sportsFormer Liverpool defender Carragher said: “From Feyenoord to Liverpool it’s a huge jump and I think it shows at the moment that there’s probably a shortage of real top managers, when you look at who Liverpool are going to aims.
“Initially it was Xabi Alonso – it’s only his first full season as coach – then there was talk about Sporting’s Ruben Amorim, who is only 39. Now Arne Slot is the favorite .”
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Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains the details of Arne Slot’s potential move to Liverpool and the type of football fans can expect if he gets the role
Carragher added that the scenario Slot could face at Anfield differs from the one Klopp inherited in 2014 after his tenure in charge of Borussia Dortmund, or the one Rafa Benitez entered into in 2004 after leaving Valencia.
“I don’t think it’s the arrival of Benitez or Klopp,” he said. “Benitez comes in after two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup, or Klopp won a few league titles and reached a Champions League final. Liverpool were actually in a different space then.
“That Liverpool team, certainly under Benitez that I was part of, we were the team trying to get into the top four. The same with Klopp when he came in.
“But Liverpool are in a different era now. They want to fight for the Premier League every season. Next season, in the Champions League, they expect to reach at least the quarter-finals.
“I think it’s a huge step forward, but he’s obviously a great coach with a great track record so far. We’ll see.”
Neville admits ‘surprise’ at Slot move
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Gary Neville gives his views on Liverpool’s decision to appoint Feyenoord manager Arne Slot to replace Jurgen Klopp
Gary Neville admitted his “surprise” at Liverpool choosing Slot to replace Klopp, adding: “Jamie Carragher had spoken to me about two different managers, so it wasn’t what he expected either.
“He is a successful coach in the Netherlands. I love Dutch coaches. There is a way of coaching that comes back through some of the great coaches in football.
“Obviously it’s a change going from the Dutch league to the English league. It’s a very different approach to Jurgen Klopp but I don’t think they’ll ever really be able to appoint a manager who has the personality, the character and the strength of Klopp.
“It’s interesting. It’s obviously something that was driven by Michael Edwards, in the sense that they want a different approach.
“Maybe that’s why Edwards left Liverpool – because he clashed with Klopp. But now he has his own path and he’s bringing in someone who he believes will take Liverpool forward .
“We don’t know how it’s going to go. The reality is we’ve seen the post-Arsene Wenger era at Arsenal has been difficult. The post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at Manchester United has been difficult. Klopp is huge at Liverpool, so they have to try and get it right.
“Initially we thought it would be Xabi Alonso, then Ruben Amorim. Now it’s Arne Slot.
“Maybe he wasn’t No. 1 on the list, but the fact is, if you can’t figure out who you want, you have to move on to the next one on the list. They’ll always have a good coach .”
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Sky Sports’ Peter Smith and David Reed discuss the news that Liverpool have opened negotiations with Feyenoord over the hiring of Arne Slot as manager
Neville believes Liverpool’s setup behind the scenes could make the transition to a post-Klopp era a smoother process than the one Man Utd and Arsenal endured when replacing Ferguson and Wenger, respectively.
“What Manchester United and Arsenal had when they replaced those two managers was quite a traditional, old-school approach where the managers ran the club,” he said.
“They didn’t really have an athletic department under them. They were the heads of the athletic department. They were head of recruiting, athletic director, manager and coach all at the same time.
“Liverpool have a better setup, with more depth and more structure. There will always be an element of risk in replacing Klopp with anyone, but it has to happen. Klopp is leaving.”
Why do Liverpool like Slot?
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Feyenoord coach Arne Slot gives an inspiring team speech after a huge win over Ajax last season – his side went on to win the Eredivisie
Slot, who won the KNVB Cup last weekend and led Feyenoord to their first title in six years last season, appeals to Liverpool because of his aggressive, full-throttle style.
He has coached his team to turn defensive actions into shooting opportunities and they lead the Eredivisie for tackles won in the opposition’s final third.
Feyenoord has the best defense in the league and the second best offensive statistics.
Slot has shown himself capable of improving individuals as well as the collective, while operating on a lower budget than his main competitors, and his penchant for a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation suits the Liverpool team.
Slot has already been approached by Tottenham, Chelsea and Leeds. He signed a new contract last May to keep him at Feyenoord until 2026, but has expressed his desire to take the next step in his career.
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