Arne Slot has confirmed that he wants to leave Feyenoord and succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager this summer.
Liverpool opened talks with Slot and Feyenoord on Wednesday over succeeding Klopp as they try to get ahead of potential competition from Bayern Munich. He is the first choice of Fenway Sports Group chief Michael Edwards and incoming director of football Richard Hughes.
Speaking ahead of Feyenoord's match against Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday night, the 45-year-old told ESPN: "I’d like to become the new Liverpool manager, my decision is clear, it's no secret. Feyenoord and Liverpool are in talks to negotiate, I’m waiting to see what will come out of it. I am confident, waiting for the clubs to reach an agreement."
Talks are ongoing because Slot has two years left on his Feyenoord deal and it is understood it will cost around £8.6million in compensation for Liverpool to hire him this summer. The Dutch club are consigned to losing their manager and have identified FC Twente boss Joseph Oosting as a target to replace him.
Slot had earlier chosen to avoid answering questions about his links to Liverpool when he was approached by a reporter when getting off the team bus in Deventer. But, having failed to reach an agreement with Tottenham last summer, he appears destined for the Premier League.
That has always been the plan for the ambitious coach, who admitted last year: "The next step will not be another club in Holland. If that is the next step, I’ve failed completely in the upcoming few years. A normal next step would be to go abroad and I’ve always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
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Klopp announced back in January that he would step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season, ending his eight-and-a-half-year stint as boss. Xabi Alonso was initially considered the frontrunner for the position, but the former Liverpool midfielder later committed himself to staying with Bayer Leverkusen.
Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim is another who has been linked, but Slot has jumped to the front of the queue. He guided Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title last year and has claimed the Dutch Cup this campaign and his playing style is considered similar to Klopp's.
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