Steve Nicol has issued his verdict on Arne Slot amid suggestions that Liverpool are closing in on an agreement to appoint the Dutchman as their next manager.
Liverpool fans may now be close to finding out who will succeed Jurgen Klopp following the German’s decision earlier this season that this campaign would be his last at Anfield.
A host of names have been linked with the post, with Richard Keys claiming at one stage that he had learned that Xabi Alonso had agreed to become Liverpool boss, while there were also strong links with Ruben Amorim.
But it now appears that Arne Slot may be on pole position to come into Merseyside this summer.
Steve Nicol reacts as Liverpool close in on Arne Slot
It is, of course, one of the biggest decisions facing Liverpool in their recent history, with Klopp doing an unbelievable job during his time at Anfield, taking the club back to the summit domestically and in Europe.
So whoever Liverpool turn to is going to be a risky choice to some degree. But speaking on ESPN, Steve Nicol suggested that he is in favour of the Reds targeting Slot.
“Well, by all accounts, he ticks all the boxes. The way he plays the game is not dissimilar to the way that Klopp and Liverpool play the game, so that’s a positive. You’re coming into a situation where the message to players isn’t too dissimilar to the one they already had,” he said.
“The question really is his personality, for me. That’s what’s going to decide, for me, whether he’s going to be a success or not, because in terms of the way he plays the game, the way his teams play the game, in terms of coaching, all of those things, he ticks every single box.
“And supposedly again, he has a strong personality, he’s quite a chirpy guy, he’s no shrinking violet. But to me, that’s going to be the difference between him being a success or not; he’s going to have to be a really strong personality to step into the shoes of Jurgen Klopp.”
Rival interest shows how highly Dutchman is rated in the game
Of course, Liverpool fans may be wary of reading too much into the news until an appointment is confirmed, particularly as they have had to deal with so many rumours over the last few months.
But Slot is someone who has won honours with Feyenoord, playing a brand of football which has won a lot of admirers.
The likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AC Milan are also interested in Slot, which tells you everything about how highly he is rated amongst some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
If he ends up at Liverpool, you would have to say that the Reds have rolled the dice but potentially ended up making a really exciting choice.