Arne Slot will have his work cut out when he takes over as Liverpool manager with a seventh departure from the club’s backroom staff being confirmed and with the departing Feyenoord coach missing out on landing a top target now at Shakhtar Donestsk.
The Merseysiders are preparing for what they hope will be a bright new era at the club, with Slot the man charged with stepping into the sizeable shoes of Jurgen Klopp this summer. The massively-popular German coach will walk off into the Majorcan sunset – where he owns a luxury villa – after close to nine years at the Anfield helm.
And despite a wobbly end to his reign that has seen Liverpool blow any chances they had of adding to Klopp’s seven-trophy haul, his legacy remains intact and, having led the club to both the Premier League and Champions League crowns during his time in charge, he will depart Anfield as one of the greatest managers in their illustrious history.
After a long and detailed hunt, the Reds CEO of football, Michael Edwards – charged with ensuring the expected drop-off post Klopp is not as keenly felt – has plumped for Slot as the next Liverpool manager.
And having settled on a compensation payment of around £9m with Feyenoord, the appointment of the 45-year-old is expected to be confirmed shortly after Klopp takes charge of his final match at Anfield on Sunday May 19.
However, not everyone is enamoured by the arrival of Slot, with Richard Keys cruelly suggesting he is an underwhelming choice and is little more than ‘Ten Hag is disguise’.
Another departure to follow Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool
Indeed, it seems Slot will have his work cut out succeeding a bona fide club legend, and moreso, with a number of top stars reportedly tipped to follow the manager out the door.
Indeed, Joel Matip, Adrian and Thiago Alcantara are all expected to leave at the end of their contracts, while there remains ongoing speculation over Mo Salah, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez.
And while the incoming Liverpool manager would love to retain the services of all three, Nunez in particular has been strongly linked with an exit this week with Barcelona strongly tipped to launch a move for the Uruguayan.
The recruitment side of things will be left on the desk of incoming new sporting director Richard Hughes, while Edwards has a more far-reaching role that will focus on contracts and player renewals among a series of other jobs.
Slot, meanwhile, will be spending his first weeks bringing in the very best backroom team he can assemble at Anfield.
The Dutchman has a number of positions to fill, though, with now a ninth member of Klopp’s backroom team confirmed to be leaving this month.
And with Pep Lijnders (assistant manager), Peter Krawietz (first-team coach), Vitor Matos (elite development coach), John Achterberg (goalkeeper coach) and Andreas Schlumberger (head of recovery and performance) already confirmed to be following Klopp out, it’s now been reported that a seventh departure is on the cards this summer in the form of Andreas Kornmayer, who was head of fitness and conditioning.
Shakhtar Donetsk target rejects Slot approach
However, it’s already been reported that joining Slot at Anfield will be Feyenoord assistant manager Sipke Hulshoff and head of performance Ruben Peeters.
The appointment of Peeters is certainly an intriguing one given Tribuna’s claims that he was tasked with ‘decreasing risk of injury and creating extreme player fitness’ at Feyenoord under Slot.
And with Liverpool suffering with more than their fair share of injuries this season, it will be interesting to see how the Reds fare in that department next season and beyond.
In the meantime, Slot will need to look elsewhere in his efforts to appoint a first-team coach at Merseyside in succession to Krawietz having seen an approach to Marino Pusic rejected.
