Slot confirms he'll take over Liverpool after emotional Klopp farewell

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Arne Slot announced Friday that he’s set to shoulder the daunting task of succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

“I can confirm that I will become the trainer there next year,” Slot told a news conference, as reported by ESPN.

Slot will, therefore, oversee his final match in charge of Feyenoord against Excelsior on Sunday. Liverpool are yet to confirm his appointment.

Klopp’s tenure concludes with Sunday’s visit from Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield. His prolonged farewell included silverware in the League Cup, but it was cruelly overshadowed by Liverpool’s demoralizing failures in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Europa League. Despite a subdued end to a stint of over eight-and-a-half years at the helm, Klopp’s popularity will endure in the red half of Merseyside because of the other trophies he hoisted, the exciting brand of football he championed, and the way he connected with the club and city.

Klopp reinvigorated one of football’s greatest institutions.

“In terms of the transformation he has overseen, the comparisons with the legendary Bill Shankly are fair. Liverpool were hunched and wandering when he came along: a sad, disjointed squad, with a fatalistic fanbase. Nothing made sense,” The Athletic’s Simon Hughes wrote soon after Klopp announced in January that he would leave.

Klopp’s major honors with Liverpool

Over to you, Arne.

Slot won one Eredivisie title and one KNVB Cup over three seasons with Feyenoord. He also led the club to a runner-up finish in the inaugural edition of the Europa Conference League. He’s devoted to energetic, attacking football – often lining up with a 4-2-3-1 formation – and worked closely with the data and fitness teams in Rotterdam to try to prevent injuries caused by his intense approach.

The 45-year-old earned a reputation for developing young players while operating on a budget smaller than those enjoyed by domestic rivals PSV Eindhoven and Ajax. The most Feyenoord spent on a player during Slot’s tenure was around €8 million, while Steven Berghuis, Luis Sinisterra, Tyrell Malacia, and other key figures left for supposedly better opportunities elsewhere.

Dutch legend Marco van Basten doesn’t believe Liverpool is too big a step for Slot to take after his stops overseeing Cambuur, AZ Alkmaar, and Feyenoord.

“I think it would only become easier for him because you have better players who understand quicker what you want,” Van Basten told the Rondo show on Ziggo Sport, according to BBC Sport’s Arthur Renard. “Those players are also more stubborn, but I think Slot is smart enough to manage that.”

Slot plans to take Sipke Hulshoff, his assistant at Feyenoord, to Liverpool as a member of his backroom staff, sources told ESPN.