FOOTBALL – LIVERPOOL have appointed Feyenoord’s Arne Slot as manager to replace departing coach Juergen Klopp next season, the Premier League club announced yesterday.
Slot has been in charge of the Dutch team since 2021, and won the Eredivisie league title in 2022-23 along with the KNVB Cup this season, while Feyenoord also reached the Europa Conference League final in his first season at the club.
“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,” the Anfield club said in a statement.
Klopp announced in January that he would leave Liverpool at the end of this season and, after much speculation, Slot confirmed on Friday that he would become Liverpool manager.
On Sunday, after Liverpool’s final game of the season, a 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Klopp led the Anfield crowd in a song for the incoming manager.
Aggressive
Slot was linked with the Tottenham Hotspur job at the end of last season before signing a contract extension at Feyenoord, and his aggressive, attacking style attracted Liverpool to entice the Dutchman to the Premier League.
Liverpool ended the season third in the Premier League, nine points off champions Manchester City, while Feyenoord finished runners-up to PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie.
Slot was given a rousing send-off by the Feyenoord fans after their final league game of the season on Sunday, a 4-0 home win over Excelsior, as the 45-year-old’s three-year spell at the club came to an end.
This season, Feyenoord were denied a repeat of their title win only by an impressive PSV, who have lost once, while Feyenoord have suffered defeat twice, the same as last term, to finish nine points off the pace.
Slot’s success and entertaining brand of football has previously attracted interest from English clubs, including Crystal Palace and Leeds United, before Spurs tried to persuade him to join them at the end of last season.
He decided to remain at Feyenoord, extending his contract, but the approach from Liverpool proved irresistible, and Slot will now have the tough task of replacing the much-loved Klopp who leaves after nine years at the club.
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