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Arne Slot admits he wants to succeed Jürgen Klopp as Liverpool manager

mark dobson
·2-min read
<span>‘I’d like to become the new Liverpool manager, my decision is clear.’</span><span>Photograph: Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images</span>
‘I’d like to become the new Liverpool manager, my decision is clear.’Photograph: Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images

Arne Slot has revealed he is keen on a move to Liverpool and has ­“confidence” that a switch to Anfield will materialise.

The Feyenoord manager, who has become Liverpool’s preferred candidate to succeed Jürgen Klopp, was speaking to ESPN before the club’s Eredivisie game against Go Ahead Eagles. “The only thing I can say about it is that the clubs are in negotiations – and then you sit in the waiting room and wait for what will come out. It seems clear to me that I would like to go to Liverpool,” he said. “Now I am waiting to see whether the clubs reach an agreement. I have every ­confidence in that.”

Slot added: “The clubs have to do their job and then I am waiting, and as the ‘main character’ I have to respect that. It will undoubtedly become clear in the coming days. It’s no secret that I want to go to Liverpool.”

Related: Van Dijk criticises unacceptable form and admits Liverpool do not merit title

Slot has two seasons left on his contract but Liverpool have now made an official approach for the 45-year-old, who is also of interest to Bayern Munich and Milan.

It will take a compensation fee in the region of €10m (£8.5m) to release him from the final two years of his Feyenoord contract.

Negotiations between the two clubs are ongoing.

Slot led Feyenoord to ­victory in the KNVB Cup on Sunday and won the Eredivisie title last season. He also reached the 2022 Europa ­Conference  League final in his first season in charge after replacing Dick Advocaat.

Michael Edwards, the chief executive of football for Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group, and the incoming sporting director, Richard Hughes, have been handed the unenviable task of finding Klopp’s replacement.

However, they believe that Slot’s ­playing philosophy will ­complement the work Klopp has done with the Liverpool squad and can also work within FSG’s financial model.

The Liverpool captain, Virgil van Dijk, has already endorsed the credentials of his fellow Dutchman, ­saying: “I think Arne Slot is perhaps one of the better Dutch coaches at this moment. I think the way of playing and the philosophy he has, that he could be a Liverpool coach.”