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As Arne Slot prepares for life after Trent Alexander-Arnold, he needs only look in the mirror for proof that there can be a smooth succession at Liverpool.

“Kevin Keegan left, Kenny Dalglish arrived, we all felt disappointed, we felt sad, but we always know this club will generate new stars again.”

That Dalglish went on to become still more beloved than Keegan, the scorer of the winner in the European Cup final in his debut year and arguably Liverpool’s greatest player, may be the most encouraging precedent.



Mention of Dalglish, admittedly, could apply pressure to Conor Bradley, the understudy who, Slot confirmed, will start against Arsenal on Sunday and, had he been fit, would have begun against Chelsea last week.

Players want to be here, and we can focus on the one who is leaving or the one or two who have left before; or we can focus on the fact how special it is that Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk [have extended] their contracts here again and want to be here longer.

But Liverpool won the Champions League the year after Owen left, albeit in an astonishing anomaly.

There have been times when there has been seamless continuity, or even improvement, when a pivotal figure leaves – Bob Paisley for Bill Shankly, Joe Fagan for Paisley, Dalglish for Fagan, Slot for Klopp in the dugout; Dalglish for Keegan, John Aldridge for Ian Rush, Alan Hansen for Emlyn Hughes, Graeme Souness for Ian Callaghan on the pitch – and, often, the successor has already been at the club, serving their apprenticeship.

Yet it often tends to come from a position of strength, in successful times.
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