Premier League history shows that there are few jobs tougher then replacing successful, transformative and much-loved managers. Paradoxically, there are also few jobs more attractive to those in the elite coaching fraternity.
Succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool is unquestionably one of those roles and, perhaps fittingly for a big position on Merseyside, the frontrunners have been changing and jockeying for position like competitors in the Kentucky Derby.
Liverpool fans educated themselves on the tactics, traits and presumed inner workings of Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim, but now Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot is the name on everyone’s lips.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on April 24 that Liverpool were in negotiations with Slot, who had become their “preferred choice”. On May 17, Slot himself told a media conference that he would be taking over from Klopp this year, although neither club had yet confirmed the news.
Just a day after Klopp’s final game in charge at Anfield on May 19, Liverpool finally confirmed that Slot would take over as their new permanent manager from July 1, 2024.
We can announce Arne Slot has agreed a deal to become the club’s new head coach, formally taking up the position on June 1, 2024, subject to a work permit 🙌
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 20, 2024
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Arne Slot named next Liverpool manager
Speaking to media on May 17, two days before Klopp’s final match in charge of Liverpool against Wolves at Anfield, Slot revealed the news fans had been waiting for.
“I can confirm that I will be a coach at Liverpool next season,” he said.
Although Liverpool did not immediately support his claim, it seemed likely that confirmation was imminent. On May 20, the Reds finally announced his appointment as manager.
“Liverpool Football Club can announce Arne Slot has agreed a deal to become the club’s new head coach, formally taking up the position on June 1, 2024, subject to a work permit,” they said.
“The 45-year-old will join the Reds from Feyenoord ahead of the 2024/25 season after a deal was reached with the Eredivisie club for his services.”
Slot was certainly not the first name to be linked with the Anfield job. Xabi Alonso was the early favourite to be installed as Klopp’s successor, having led Bayer Leverkusen to a historic maiden Bundesliga title, but he promptly confirmed he would be staying put. Given Leverkusen remain in contention for a treble of Bundesliga, UEFA Europa League and DFB-Pokal, who can blame him?
Speaking at a press conference in late March, Alonso said: “We’ve had a lot of speculation regarding my future. We’ve had a lot of games, been pretty busy, pretty focused, and I wanted to use the international break and reflect and take a decision.
“Last week I had a very good meeting with Simon [Rolfes] and Fernando [Carro] and informed them of my decision to continue as coach of Bayer Leverkusen.
“It’s the right place for me to be, to develop as a coach. The fans showed great support this year. They have all the reasons to believe and dream we can have a great season. The players gave me so many reasons to keep believing in the team. My job is not over here.”
That development further strengthened the position of potential candidates like Ruben Amorim and Roberto De Zerbi, the soon-to-be-former manager of Brighton & Hove Albion, while Julian Nagelsmann was also mentioned as a potential successor to his countryman Klopp before committing himself to remaining with the German national team.
MORE: Xabi Alonso out of running to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool
Arne Slot trophies won
Slot further burnished his reputation this season by lifting the KNVB Cup with Feyenoord in the Netherlands, in addition to the Eredivisie title triumph he masterminded last season.
PSV took the league title back in 2024/25, but Feyenoord are safely in a Champions League qualification spot, so it’s easy to see how negotiations have been able to progress in an atmosphere of “total respect”.
No one wanted a repeat of the situation of December 2020, when Slot was sacked by AZ having already agreed a deal with Feyenoord, who he led to the UEFA Europa Conference League final in his first season in charge.
That messy exit is not the defining memory of Slot’s time in Alkmaar, however. His average of 2.11 points per game is the highest of any coach in AZ history. He might even have secured an incredible Eredivisie success. In 2019/20, AZ were behind Erik ten Hag’s Ajax at the top on goal difference when the Coronavirus pandemic struck and the season was voided.
Slot’s work at Feyenoord, a big club with a rich history but not the most financially powerful in Dutch football, has obvious parallels with Klopp’s stays at Borussia Dortmund against the all-conquering Bayern Munich and at Liverpool in opposition to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. There are stylistic similarities, too.
Arne Slot tactics and style of play
Slot is an advocate of high-intensity attacking football. His team play with a high defensive line and look to get the ball forward quickly.
That obviously chimes with the most romantic remembrances of Klopp’s “heavy metal football” at Dortmund and Liverpool, with the caveat that the Reds’ boss tempered that approach when the necessity of gargantuan points totals to compete with City became apparent.
Slot uses 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 setups predominantly. In the latter, it is not uncommon to see his two deeper midfielders operating close to the central defenders during the build-up to bounce passes around the opposition press.
This is an approach used in the Premier League by De Zerbi, another coach reportedly on Liverpool’s radar. It also frees up full-backs to support the attack and might be music to the ears of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and breakout star Conor Bradley.
Out of possession, the Klopp staple of a high-press is fundamental for Slot. Plenty about his previous work and the characteristics of the Liverpool squad mark him out as a good fit. It will then be on Slot to prove he is not simply “Klopp-lite” or any other potentially unflattering labels.
MORE: How much did Liverpool pay for Arne Slot?
How do you pronounce Arne Slot’s name?
Liverpool fans will have to get used to singing Slot’s name on the Kop, just as they have done with Klopp.
Initial reports of Slot being the preferred candidate to take over at Liverpool were also met with a flurry of questions on social media about how to pronounce his name. Well, as with many Dutch names, it’s not too complicated for English speakers. His name is pronounced phonetically as it is spelt: Ar-ner Slot.
To begin perfecting your pronunciation, Liverpool fans, you can hear it pronounced by a Dutch native here.
Does Arne Slot speak English?
Slot would certainly be expected to hit the ground running at Liverpool, but he will have an advantage in getting his message across to the talent-packed squad quickly, as he already speaks great English.
Slot has been questioned in press conferences previously by English journalists as part of Feyenoord’s European club commitments, including last year when he was linked with Tottenham and promptly showed off his language skills.
Why is Jurgen Klopp leaving Liverpool?
Klopp’s decision to step down from his role at Anfield caught everyone by surprise.
He made the announcement in an emotional video and written message on the club’s website in January , citing that he was “running out of energy” for the demands of managing at the top level.
The news hit Liverpool fans hard, but it has also sent reverberations around the Premier League.
Klopp’s rivalry with Manchester City boss Guardiola has proved to be the defining battle of its time in English football.
In 2018, Liverpool dumped City out of the Champions League en route to a final defeat against Real Madrid in Kyiv.
They also lost to Los Blancos in the 2022 final, but Klopp made sure of Liverpool’s sixth European crown when they defeated Tottenham 2-0 at Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in 2019.
That success facilitated glory in the 2019 editions of the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. Liverpool also won the domestic knockout double of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in 2020/21.
Liverpool picked up another trophy as they overcame Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final in February and Klopp has this season pieced together a youthful exciting team featuring the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez and a rejuvenated Trent Alexander-Arnold.
They were in the hunt for the Premier League title in a three-way battle with City and leaders Arsenal, but a damaging 1-0 home loss to Crystal Palace precipitated a decline in results that ultimately saw them out of the running.
Having joined the club in October 2015, Klopp offered a clear explanation for his pending departure when speaking to Liverpool’s in-house media team on January 26.
“I will leave the club at the end of the season. I can understand that it’s a shock for a lot of people in this moment when you read it for the first time,” he said.
“Obviously I can explain it or at least try to explain it. I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about this city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything.
MORE: Jurgen Klopp’s full Liverpool exit interview
“That I still take this decision probably shows you that I’m convinced it’s the one I have to take. It is that I’m…how can I say… I’m running out of energy.
“I have no problem now. I think I know it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point. But I’m absolutely fine now, but I also know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again.
“After all the years we had together and all the time we spent together, all the things we went through together, the respect grew for you and the love grew for you. The least I owe you is the truth. And that’s the truth.”
A message to Liverpool supporters from Jürgen Klopp. pic.twitter.com/l7rtmxgOzt
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 26, 2024
