Arne Slot admits Liverpool and Feyenoord are in talks with Jurgen Klopp for him. (0:47)
Arne Slot has announced that he will leave Feyenoord to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager and expects a solution to negotiations between the two clubs in “the coming days”.
Liverpool began talks with Feyenoord on Wednesday after identifying Slot, 45, as their number one pick to update Klopp, who will step down at the end of the season after nearly nine years at Anfield.
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Slot signed a three-year contract with Feyenoord last year after guiding the Rotterdam club to the Eredivisie title. The former AZ Alkmaar manager turned down offers from Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur to devote his long career to Feyenoord.
But speaking to ESPN Netherlands ahead of Thursday’s Eredivisie match against Go Ahead Eagles, Slot said he was looking to seize the opportunity for promotion to the Premier League with Liverpool.
“The only thing I can say is that the clubs are in negotiations,” Slot said. “And then you’re in the waiting room and you’re waiting for what’s going to come out.
“It’s clear to me that I’d like to move to Liverpool. Now I’m waiting to see if the clubs come to an agreement. I’m very confident about that. “
Sources told ESPN that Feyenoord were hoping for a £9m refund for Slot, but the manager says he is pleased the two have reached an agreement and is confident a deal can be reached quickly.
“Clubs have to do their job,” he said. And then I wait and as the ‘main character’. I have to respect that. This will certainly be transparent in the coming days. “
Following Feyenoord’s 3-1 win on Thursday, Slot provided further important points about negotiations surrounding his conceivable move to Liverpool.
“I have the impression that an offer has already been made and that Feyenoord can achieve, apparently, the highest-paid signing for a coach in the Netherlands,” he said.
Slot, 45, is the leading candidate for the Liverpool job following Xabi Alonso’s decision to stay at Bayer Leverkusen and the Premier League club’s growing interest in Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk asked about Slot’s position in Klopp’s position after his side’s 2-0 defeat to Everton on Wednesday, and the Dutch foreigner said he believes his compatriot’s taste and philosophy would fit.
“Of course I’m struggling to respond now,” van Dijk told Viaplay. “But I think Arne Slot can be one of the Dutch coaches at the moment.
“I think because of the way he plays and his philosophy, he might just be the manager of Liverpool. Only, in my opinion, what I also read and hear, of course, is that this is far from finished.
“We’ll see. Next year we’ll focus on that. “
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“I have the impression that an offer has already been made and that Feyenoord can achieve, apparently, the highest-paid signing for a coach in the Netherlands. “