Jürgen Klopp has gone and on the way out, he confirmed that Arne Slot will take over at Liverpool. There is a strong base from which to start from for the Dutchman.
The Jürgen Klopp era is gone, but far from forgotten. And as the Liverpool manager headed out of the door, he confirmed that Arne Slot would be the man to succeed him — few would have had that high up on the likely topics he might mention.
“When the next season starts you are not waiting to see what’s going on… no you go full throttle into it,” Klopp said during his farewell speech. “You welcome the new manager like you welcome me.
You go all in from the first day. And when it’s hard, you keep believing. When it’s difficult, you keep believing and you push the team, for a goal or whatever. I’m one of you now, I love you to bits.”
Slot said his own goodbyes to Feyenoord earlier on the same day and it is only a matter of time now until he is officially unveiled. While the impact of Klopp moving on will be shielded slightly by the returns of the likes of Michael Edwards and Julian Ward, some key FSG appointments behind the scenes, life without the German will still take some getting used to.
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Liverpool has made substantial progress this season but there remains a lot of work to be done. Here, Liverpool.com takes a look at the summer that could follow in an ideal scenario. There are three strands to what needs to happen: transfers, contracts, and a successful coaching transition.
Center-back signed and key transfers sorted
There is one outstanding transfer priority for Liverpool to get sorted this summer: adding a center-back to the club’s roster. With Joël Matip leaving as a free agent and Ibrahima Konaté susceptible to picking up injuries, there cannot be an overbearing load placed on the shoulders of Jarell Quansah.
As well as that, though, it would be no bad thing to add another midfielder to the ranks (even though Stefan Bajčetić is set to return and be a proper option again, and Bobby Clark will hope for more minutes). The same can be said in the attack, where adding a sixth forward to the mix would be a positive move given one is always out injured or out of form.
First, though: another defender. Ideally, that player would have a high enough ceiling to one day take over from Virgil van Dijk, but that won’t be easy to find.
Three big contract decisions made
Mohamed Salah. Virgil van Dijk. Trent Alexander-Arnold. Contract discussions don’t get much bigger than that. Salah has not been at his peak during 2024 but the Egpytian remains the Reds’ best attacker. Van Dijk is still one of the leading center-backs in the world, and Alexander-Arnold still has the best years of his life ahead of him.
Quite quickly this summer (to avoid there being any unnecessary speculation), it would be good for Liverpool to get the contract calls out of the way. It makes sense to extend all three players given how important they all remain.
Arne Slot coaching methods introduced
While Slot has been selected to take over at Liverpool, there will be some changes for the playing squad to get used to.
His assistant, Sipke Hulshoff, will be joining him at Anfield and now he has resigned from his role with the Netherlands, he will be able to come in straight away, rather than waiting until after the summer’s European Championship.
That will be vital as Slot aims to get his methods implemented as quickly as possible. A lot of Liverpool players will be on international duty (or at least on holiday after the exertions with their national sides) when the Reds return to pre-season training, but those who are there from the off will have a big advantage. For many, that will be a chance to stake an early claim in a competitive pecking order.
