Liverpool have initiated discussions with Feyenoord in a bid to secure a deal for their head coach Arne Slot to potentially take over as the next manager at Anfield, sources have revealed. Slot, aged 45, has emerged as the frontrunner for the Liverpool managerial position after Xabi Alonso opted to stay at Bayer Leverkusen and the club's interest in Sporting CP coach Ruben Amorim waned.
Despite interest from Bayern Munich and Barcelona in Slot, Liverpool has reached out to Feyenoord to try and secure the services of the former AZ Alkmaar coach. Slot turned down offers from Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur last year, as well as attracting attention from Chelsea, opting instead to extend his contract with Feyenoord until 2026 after guiding the team to the Eredivisie title in the 2022-23 season.
If Liverpool wishes to appoint Slot as their new manager, they will need to pay a compensation fee of around £9 million ($11.2m) to release him from his current contract. The search for a new manager at Liverpool is being overseen by Michael Edwards, who was instrumental in bringing Jürgen Klopp to the club in 2015 during his previous tenure as sporting director. Edwards recently returned to Liverpool as head of football for Fenway Sports Group, the club's American owners.
Jürgen Klopp announced in January that he will be stepping down from his role at the end of the current season. Liverpool faces Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday and must secure a victory against their Merseyside rivals to narrow the three-point gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal, who extended their lead at the top of the table with a commanding 5-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday.
