Most coaches would adore the chance to manage Liverpool, but only a few will lick their lips at being the first man in after Jurgen Klopp.
With Xabi Alonso staying at Bayer Leverkusen and Ruben Amorim seemingly unlikely to move to Anfield, the ECHO understands that Liverpool are in talks with Feyenoord regarding Arne Slot. The Dutchman, 45, won the Eredivisie last May and lifted the Dutch Cup three days ago.
This, perhaps unsurprisingly, is not the first time Slot has been tipped for a move to the Premier League. He was linked with Leeds United when Jesse Marsch was sacked last year, before penning a new deal with Feyenoord to waive off interest at Tottenham, ahead of Ange Postecoglou’s appointment.
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Liverpool are in a better position to lure Slot than Leeds and Spurs ever were, not least due to the global scale of the club. Both white-clad clubs were being linked mid-season, something that the manager was not a fan of.
Speaking last year, he said: “I think Leeds is a very nice club. The moment in the middle of the season, where you still have so much to play for at Feyenoord, I didn't think that was a good time to leave for England.”
There is a feeling Slot is coming to the end of his cycle at Feyenoord after three years at the helm, during which a Premier League switch has infrequently been touted. He previously underlined he wishes to leave his club “in a positive way”.
Having won the cup after last year's league success, the summer might be the perfect time to bow out - which is Liverpool's start date. Timing is on FSG’s side.
Slot has always been open about his revere for the Premier League. He told ESPN only a year ago: “I think that at some point there will come a time when, as a trainer, you will also look abroad… The Premier League is of course the number one competition in Europe.”
A month later, he went on to state: “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."
Liverpool, of course, fit that profile and some. But there is another admission of his that puts the Reds in a strong position and gives them an advantage Spurs and Leeds clearly do not boast.
Slot said: “There are always clubs that come along that – if it were up to me – you can't say 'no' to.”
Liverpool would surely be one of them, offering a job that few managers could resist - and perhaps for Slot, one he cannot turn down, even if it means coming in after Klopp.
