Liverpool are set to part company with Arne Slot just a year after he led them to their second Premier League title.
The Reds finished fifth in the Premier League this season, only just qualifying for the Champions League after a record-breaking £415million transfer spend in the summer.
There were grumbles about Liverpool’s playing style and questions about his relationship with some of the club’s key stars, most notably Mohamed Salah.
Salah recently harkened back to the days of ‘being the heavy metal attacking team’ that they were under Jurgen Klopp on social media, widely perceived as a dig at Slot.
Liverpool were also unable to replicate their Champions League glory achieved under Klopp, crashing out to Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 and quarter-finals under Slot.
In mitigation, it was always going to be difficult to emulate Klopp, one of the totemic figures in Liverpool’s history, and after a stunning first campaign, Slot’s team was hit by injuries and signings settling slower than expected this campaign.
Many fans had seen Xabi Alonso as the dream successor but after his move to Chelsea, Andoni Iraola is seen among the frontrunners following his departure from Bournemouth.
Iraola led Bournemouth into the Europa League and sets up his teams with an attractive style but has never managed a club of Liverpool’s ilk after stints at Larnaca, Mirandes, and Rayo Vallecano.
More to follow.
