Arne Slot is Dutch Pep Guardiola, who loves rap, rejected Tottenham and tipped to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

24/04/2024 13:58

Arne Slot is a name Premier League fans need to start learning about because he looks bound for England.

The Dutchman has transformed Feyenoord into a sublime team since his appointment as manager in 2021, and Liverpool are big admirers.

talkSPORT understands Slot is a contender to replace Jurgen Klopp when the German leaves Anfield at the end of the season.

The Reds are yet to finalise their shortlist for Klopp’s replacement, but they are impressed by Slot’s work.

The 45-year-old also ranks highly on the data-driven process Liverpool like to use, so it’s very possible he will be in the hot seat at Anfield next year.

TOTTENHAM REJECTION

However, on a different timeline, he would already be in England as Tottenham boss.

This is because before Spurs went for Ange Postecoglou in 2023 they tried to bring Slot to north London.

Interestingly, the Dutchman was relatively low down on the list of targets after Vincent Kompany, Roberto De Zerbi and Julian Nagelsmann all ruled themselves out.

But despite Spurs coming close to agreeing a compensation package, Slot rejected the chance to take the Spurs job.

And speaking about why he turned Tottenham down, the Feyenoord boss revealed that the key factor was the Champions League or lack of it.

Talking after the deal fell through, he said: "The decisive factor was playing the Champions League.

"The fantastic work with the staff and the players, the fact that I'm having a great time privately and being able to build on the past two seasons.

"I didn't know what would happen [with Tottenham]. I weighed everything up, including whether the people who work with me would want to come with me.

"You can think of it, but I don't think it's chic to say! But my intention is to stay because that already raises an expectation."

However, with Liverpool now almost certain to be playing with Europe’s elite next season, the Champions League won’t be an issue for the Reds should they decide Slot is the man.

ANOTHER PEP

Looking at his track record, you can see why Liverpool are so impressed by the Dutchman.

Slot enjoyed a relatively quiet career as a player, spending the majority of his time with FC Zwolle before retiring in 2013.

He immediately became a youth coach at Zwolle before joining SC Cambuur as assistant manager, where he remained until moving to AZ Alkmaar.

Slot was the club’s assistant for two years but became the first-team boss in the summer of 2019.

His Alkmaar team were prolific, scoring 118 goals in 58 matches, while he helped the club qualify for the Europa League.

He also boasted the highest win ratio in the club’s history, but he was sacked surprisingly in 2020 due to Alkmaar’s belief he’d lost focus on the job amid links with Feyenoord.

Of course, he ended up at Feyenoord less than a year later, and the rest is history.

They won the Eredivisie last season and won the KNVB Cup this year to hand Slot his first pieces of silverware.

STYLE OF PLAY

The 45-year-old has been compared to Pep Guardiola by Dutch football journalist Marcel van der Kraan, who said: “He’s a really good manager and sometimes it can come fast and quick.

“I’ve followed Feyenoord for 40 years. Not since the days of Johan Cruyff at Ajax in the 1980s has there been a coach so attack-minded in the Dutch league. Cruyff only had a few disciples who followed him, and one of them was Pep Guardiola.

"I would say Slot is a Guardiola-style manager based on everything I’ve seen over the past couple of years. The fans of Feyenoord can’t believe what they’ve seen over that time."

Of course, the key thing for Liverpool fans is the style of play, and Slot likes to entertain.

Speaking to UEFA about his brand of football, he said: "We are an attack-minded team that likes to have a lot of the ball, and we play with a lot of intensity.

"When we don't have the ball, we want to win it back as quickly as possible by being aggressive and pressing to win back possession. I think we are a team that is difficult to beat."

In many ways, this is exactly how Klopp and Guardiola play, so the transition should be straightforward for Liverpool fans and players.

RATTLING SIMEONE

Slot and Atletico boss Diego Simeone found themselves in a shoving match – after a friendly in 2021.

It was a lost in translation moment when Simeone thought Slot was trying to wind him after Feyenoord’s 2-1 win.

“At that moment, at the end of the match, I turned to Simeone to tell him how passionate he was even in a friendly match,” he said ahead of the team’s Champions League clash in 2023.

“Then, he misinterpreted the smile I had at that moment and pushed me. This says a lot about him, how easily he gets irritated and frustrated. It doesn’t matter who he is in front of, he is like that, I don’t think he has anything against me.”

RAPPING UP

Away from the field, he is a huge rap fan – at least his daughter is, having taken her to see Dutch rapper Jonna Fraser in Amsterdam.

He’ll be in good hands with members of the squad such as John Aldridge, who performed the 1988 hit ‘Anfield Rap’, still knocking about.

The Reds have other options to become their new manager, but the more you learn about Slot, it seems like a perfect fit.

Over to you, Aldo…