Former Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld believes his former team-mate, Arne Slot, is ‘the perfect fit’ to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Reds manager.
With the German confirmed to be leaving the club in the summer, Feyenoord manager Slot has emerged as a leading candidate to replace him at Anfield. Liverpool opened negotiations with the Dutch club on Wednesday as they ramp up their efforts to appoint a successor.
Westerveld, who won the treble with the Reds in 2001, was team-mates with Slot at Sparta Rotterdam. The pair made 21 appearances alongside each other during the 2007/08 season, while they remain close friends and regularly golf together to this day.
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The former goalkeeper has spoken to Slot since Liverpool’s interest in the Feyenoord boss went public. And while the 45-year-old gave little away regarding his future intentions, Westerveld, who always knew his compatriot would make a good manager, thinks he would be perfect for the Reds.
“When I played with Arne at Sparta, you could see that he would become a coach,” Westerveld told The Times. “He was a leader, a No10 midfielder and someone who would change tactics by himself.
“I spoke to him this morning and he just said it is not a secret that Liverpool wants him but that he could not say anything. I hope it will happen.
“The job he has done at Feyenoord makes him the perfect fit for Liverpool… When he signed for Feyenoord they sold the best player, Steven Berghuis, to Ajax and they didn’t have lots of money to spend.
“Everyone said it would be difficult, but Arne said: “No, no, I will make this happen.” A year later he became the champion of Holland with this team and that is why I think there are similarities with Liverpool.
“Liverpool have a lot of potential in the squad, and we don’t have the money that Manchester City have to spend, so I think he will get all the potential out of the players.
“He plays in the same style as Jurgen Klopp: sexy football, forward pressing and the percentage of ball recoveries in the opposition half is the highest in Holland. When he loses the ball, he wants the ball back in three seconds.
“His personality is perfect for Liverpool. He is a good fit because he is not only the manager of a team, he can manage a club and the fans.
“He is an intelligent guy, he is a good analyst and when you see his press conferences, he speaks good English and is very respectful.
“You will not see Arne being like Erik ten Hag was in his recent press conference. He is a respectful guy like Pep Guardiola and he is an ambassador for the club.
“You need to be a special coach to coach a special club and I think Arne is that.”
