After emerging as the favorite to succeed Jurgen Klopp as the Liverpool manager, Feyenoord’s Arne Slot said the two clubs are in negotiations to ensure he ends up in England by summertime.
“The only thing I can say about it is that the clubs are in negotiations,” he told ESPN Netherlands before Feyenoord’s game against Go Ahead Eagles. “The clubs have to do their job. And then I’m waiting and as the ‘main character.’ I have to respect that. It will undoubtedly become clear in the coming days.”
Feyenoord have reportedly already rejected Liverpool’s first offer for Slot’s services, which stood at around $9.6 million, per The Athletic.
While the clubs iron out the details, Slot said he was positive the deal would get done.
“It seems clear to me that I would like to go to Liverpool,” he added. “Now I’m waiting to see whether the clubs reach an agreement. I’m very confident in that.”
Slot has slowly become one of Europe’s most exciting young managers since joining Feyenoord in 2021. He took them to the final of the UEFA Europa Conference League in his first season and won the Eredivisie in his second, the first time they had done so in six years. They also won the KNVB Cup this season and are poised to finish second place in the Eredivisie with three games to go. He was the subject of interest from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United in recent years but opted to stay in the Netherlands until now.
He is set to beat out a handful of other rising managerial talents across Europe for the Liverpool job, which was arguably the highest-profile vacancy despite several other top clubs eyeing new coaches. Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim was considered the front-runner until earlier this week, but then it was reported that Liverpool were unlikely to choose him as Klopp’s replacement and that West Ham are considering hiring him in case David Moyes opts to leave in the summer. Former Liverpool player Xabi Alonso was also amongst those in the mix but he chose to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for a follow-up act to this season’s historic Bundesliga victory.
The 45-year-old Slot already has a fan in Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, who was complementary of the potential new manager after the Reds’ 2-0 loss to Everton on Wednesday.
“I find it difficult to answer it now, of course,” Van Dijk said. “But I think Arne Slot might be one of the better Dutch coaches at this moment. I think the way he plays and the philosophy he has, that he could be a Liverpool coach. Only in my opinion, what I also read and hear, of course, is that it is far from finalized. We will see. Next year we will focus on that.”
