Liverpool have confirmed the appointment of Arne Slot as their head coach 24 hours after Jürgen Klopp bade farewell to Anfield.
Liverpool have had an agreement in place with the former Feyenoord coach for more than three weeks but wanted to delay the announcement until after Klopp’s departure. Slot has been announced as the head coach, not manager, and has signed a three-year contract.
He will officially start on 1 June, subject to a work permit, but has commenced preparations by bringing forward Liverpool’s pre-season training by a week. The 45-year-old had two years remaining on his deal with Feyenoord, who will receive €9m (£7.7m) plus €2m in add-ons in compensation.
Slot, who won the Dutch league and cup in his three seasons with Feyenoord, was identified as Liverpool’s preferred candidate in a search led by the new sporting director, Richard Hughes, and Michael Edwards, the new chief executive of football at Fenway Sports Group. The early frontrunner, the former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, ruled himself out when opting to stay with the new Bundesliga champions, Bayer Leverkusen.
Klopp’s decision to announce his departure in January, having informed Liverpool’s owners of his intentions in November, afforded the club time to conduct a thorough search for his successor. Slot, who has won the Rinus Michels Award for the best coach in the Netherlands for the past two seasons, emerged as Liverpool’s preferred choice for several reasons.
His achievements with AZ and Feyenoord, reputation for innovation, communication skills and overperforming on a relatively modest budget caught the eye of Liverpool’s recruitment team. A style of play that is not a dramatic departure from Klopp’s and should therefore suit most of the Liverpool squad also appealed. Slot also has a track record of improving players. He is understood to be keen to work with Darwin Núñez, despite recent doubts over the Uruguay international’s future.
Slot led Feyenoord to victory in the KNVB Cup in April after winning the Eredivisie the previous season. This season they finished second, behind the champions, PSV Eindhoven. Slot also reached the 2022 Europa Conference League final in his first season after replacing Dick Advocaat, where they lost 1-0 to Roma.
His work led to widespread interest across Europe, with Tottenham keen to bring him to the Premier League last season, but the coach was set on a move to Anfield as soon as Liverpool registered their interest.
Slot told Feyenoord’s club website: “It is certainly not an easy decision to close the door behind you at a club where you have experienced so many wonderful moments and worked successfully with so many wonderful people.
“But as a sportsman, an opportunity to become a head coach in the Premier League, at one of the biggest clubs in the world, is difficult to ignore.”
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Slot’s assistant at Feyenoord, Sipke Hulshoff, is expected to follow him to Anfield having resigned as the Netherlands’ assistant coach last week to be available for the start of pre-season training with Liverpool. Feyenoord’s head of performance, Ruben Peeters, and analyst Etienne Reijnen will also join Liverpool subject to work permits.
Slot will start pre-season training at the beginning of July. However, Virgil van Dijk believes players involved in the Euros or Copa América will need an extended rest. The Liverpool captain said: “One thing I do know is we need a good break after our tournament because otherwise we will be in trouble going into the season. Hopefully the new manager will look into that as well.”
Van Dijk enters the final 12 months of his contract this summer and confirmed after Sunday’s win over Wolves that there is “nothing on the table”. But the Netherlands defender has pledged to help Slot settle.
“I am very curious and have a lot of questions,” Van Dijk said. “We will see. The Premier League and Liverpool is obviously a different ball game but we are here for him. I’ll be here for him whatever he needs. It is all about sticking together and give him the chance of showing what he is capable of with the other guys who will come in.
“He probably knows already but everyone knows our expectations are always huge and it is about managing that in the right way and getting the maximum out of all of our players. It starts with having a good break and then we are ready to go again. Firstly the Euros for me and Copa América for others, some have a little rest, and then we are starting from scratch again. I would like to congratulate [Manchester] City, my two good friends Kevin [De Bruyne] and Nathan [Aké], and next year hopefully we will be there challenging again and get the job done as well.”