Liverpool take huge step to appointing Arne Slot as manager

Liverpool have opened talks with Feyenoord regarding manager Arne Slot, according to multiple reports.

90min reported on Tuesday that Slot had emerged as the leading contender to replace Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout.

While Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AC Milan are all monitoring Slot, various reliable outlets are reporting Liverpool are now in negotiations with Feyenoord to discuss his release.

Slot's contract at De Kuip does not contain a release clause and so the Reds would have to pay a compensation fee instead. If Liverpool want to bring in Slot's backroom staff too, this fee could surpass £10m.

90min understands that while Liverpool were previously looking at Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso and Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim, they were never considered as the top candidate to succeed Klopp.

Liverpool's timeline to appoint a new boss was centred around the arrivals of Michael Edwards as FSG's CEO of Football and Bournemouth's Richard Hughes as sporting director beforehand. They wanted to finalise candidates and interviews in April before moving forward with formal transactions.

Slot is into his third season as manager of Feyenoord and has enjoyed great success during his time in Rotterdam. He led them to the inaugural Europa Conference League final in 2021/22, only falling 1-0 to Jose Mourinho's Roma, while they won the Dutch Eredivisie last season - the club's first league title in six years.

Most recently, Feyenoord won the Dutch Cup on Sunday with a 1-0 victory against NEC Nijmegen, and reports claim Liverpool's interest in Slot has only become public now as they wanted to respect his and the club's pursuit of silverware.

Tottenham Hotspur were interested in appointing Slot last year before he signed a new contract at Feyenoord and instead turned their attentions to Ange Postecoglou.

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