Liverpool bravely steps into the unknown with Arne Slot Premium

Liverpool faces the challenge of replacing Jurgen Klopp with Feyenoord's Arne Slot, a promising but untested coach.

Finding the right candidate to fill Jurgen Klopp’s shoes was always going to be an arduous task given Liverpool’s resurgent success under his watch. 

The celebrated Merseyside club had lost some of its aura during the Premier League era and needed a talismanic figure to restore its reputation. In Klopp, Liverpool found just the man.

Since his appointment in 2015, Klopp has transformed the club into one of the most dominant forces in European football. During his nine-year reign, Liverpool won a full set of trophies. 

The Champions League win in 2019 was arguably Klopp’s biggest victory, given the tournament’s pre-eminence, but perhaps even sweeter — in terms of what it meant as a moment — was the end of Liverpool’s 30-year wait for an English league title in 2020.

Klopp has become an icon for fans, with his trademark post-match fist pump to the crowd an example of the connection he has with them. So it was no surprise that Liverpool supporters were stunned in January by his decision to stand down because he was “running out of energy”.

Liverpool set about identifying Klopp’s successor fully aware of the consequences of getting it wrong. Michael Edwards, recently appointed “chief executive of football” for Liverpool owner FSG, oversaw the process. Edwards was the club’s former sporting director and had a key role in Klopp’s success, which included the signings of Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk.

As part of the search, Liverpool looked for candidates who would suit a squad assembled to play Klopp’s high-pressing tactics. They also needed to have the personality to take charge at one of the world’s biggest clubs.