Liverpool are reported to have no intention of moving on from Arne Slot any time soon, despite this season falling below the standards set in the Dutchman’s debut 2024–25 campaign.
The Reds saw their Premier League title defense destroyed by a dreadful run of results in October and November, with the fight now just to finish in the top five and secure Champions League qualification. Their European hopes are also fading after a first-leg defeat to Galatasaray—the second against the Turks this season—in the round of 16 this week.
But even with mounting fan frustrations over results, David Ornstein shared on The Athletic FC Podcast that Liverpool don’t see many better options than Slot. They are “steadfastly behind” the former Feyenoord boss, who fits the “exact profile” of the manager the club would be looking for.
Failure to win trophies this season—Liverpool are capable of turning it around in the Champions League and would fancy their chances of lifting the FA Cup—isn’t expected to change that. Slot is said to be “happy” and that feeling from the club’s perspective is mutual, with the belief that he is still the manager capable of improving what have been subpar results in recent months.
Liverpool’s Limited Alternative Options
Roberto De Zerbi
Roberto De Zerbi would be forced to punch higher than he ever has. | Stuart Franklin/UEFA/Getty Images
There isn’t an obvious successor for Slot who wouldn’t be a considerable gamble, expense, or both.
Xabi Alonso is certainly the romantic choice, a former Liverpool player and a legend at Bayer Leverkusen for his historic achievements there. But while the Spaniard is available right now, he is out of work after falling short of Real Madrid’s expectations within a matter of months.
Roberto De Zerbi is another who Liverpool could get without compensation. The Italian has Premier League experience from his days at Brighton & Hove Albion, helping the Seagulls punch above their weight, yet he has never led an elite team and left Marseille after chastening defeats. Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola falls into a similar category of promising but unproven at the highest level.
The Reds were linked with Ruben Amorim before he ended up at Manchester United, but the Portuguese’s plight at Old Trafford highlights what a minefield this ultimately is. Steven Gerrard would likely want to be in the frame but hasn’t had success since leaving Rangers in 2021 and hasn’t worked at all since an underwhelming spell at Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia ended more than a year ago.
Otherwise, Liverpool might be left looking at someone like Julian Nagelsmann, who has never worked outside Germany and would be hugely expensive to break out of his contract with the national team, or Paris Saint-Germain’s Luis Enrique, who is similarly under contract and probably has no reason to entertain the idea.
Liverpool’s success under Klopp was achieved with a heavily coached style and identity. That would rule out ‘enablers’ like Carlo Ancelotti or Zinedine Zidane, whose success at Real Madrid was more about man management—coaching too much is ironically where Alonso failed.
Slot Has Earned Patience From Liverpool Fans
Arne Slot
It’s too easily forgotten that Slot won the Premier League in his first year. | Nikki Dyer/LFC/Liverpool FC/Getty Images
By his own admission, there has been an element of fortune about Slot’s success at Liverpool in his first season. But even with an inherited, readymade team, delivering only the club’s second league title since 1990 was no mean feat.
Problems have arisen this season after a world record spend in the summer transfer window marked the start of a rebuilding project. Liverpool cannot rely on veterans like Mohamed Salah or Virgil van Dijk forever and neither has justified new contracts each worth upwards of $500,000 weekly.
After such an influx of players in one go, it all takes time to get right.
Slot cannot be held responsible for the lack of center back depth, the injury to club-record signing Alexander Isak, whose lack of form upon arriving was likely down to poor fitness from a summer spent on strike at Newcastle United trying to force his move to Anfield.
If results still aren’t up to scratch this time next year when Slot has had another season to establish his own team and identity and his contract is nearing its conclusion, then of course there would be justification in thinking that Liverpool can do better.
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