Liverpool enter talks to appoint Arne Slot as next manager but face stiff competition

Liverpool have entered into talks with Feyenoord for Arne Slot after identifying the Dutchman as their preferred candidate to take over from Jurgen Klopp.

Slot, who won the Dutch Cup last week and the Eredivisie last season, has two years left on the three-year contract extension he signed last summer.

Liverpool could face competition for the 45-year-old from Barcelona and Bayern Munich with Slot emerging as a potential contender for several of the major jobs that will be on offer this summer.

The Merseyside club have known since November that they would need to appoint a successor to Klopp, but the process has accelerated since Michael Edwards agreed to return to Anfield as Fenway Sports Group’s CEO of football, while Richard Hughes will also join as sporting director.

Liverpool have assessed the credentials of various managers, with Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim one who attracted their interest, but the early favourite for the job, Xabi Alonso, instead decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.

Slot has earned a reputation for playing high-energy attacking football and for improving players, some of the criteria for Liverpool as they look to carry on from Klopp.