Arne Slot (Liverpool favourites defender)
Image Credits: Imago Images
Arne Slot is expected to remain as Liverpool head coach next season, as the club move closer to securing Champions League qualification.
Doubts over his future have eased, with Liverpool opening up a seven-point gap over Chelsea in seventh place. Fifth place will be enough to qualify for the Champions League after Arsenal’s progress to the semi-finals.
Slot, who guided Liverpool to the Premier League title last season, has faced pressure in his second campaign, with the team set to finish the season without a trophy and trailing Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race.
The Reds can extend their advantage over Chelsea to 10 points with a win against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon. The Blues have sacked their head coach Liam Rosenior, just 106 days after his appointment, following a 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Tuesday night.
The loss – Chelsea’s fifth straight without scoring – adds further pressure and leaves Fabian Hürzeler’s side as a growing threat to Arne Slot’s Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification.
Unlike Chelsea, Liverpool are not planning a change in the dugout. According to the Liverpool Echo, owners Fenway Sports Group have consistently backed Slot, intending to give him time to address a difficult run of form this season.
With five games remaining, the Dutchman is expected to be given the chance to continue into the summer and rebuild ahead of a potential Champions League campaign next season.
The report claims that: “There has been a belief from those in key positions at Anfield that this campaign was always going to be exacting. The high turnover of playing staff, which saw the club recoup around half of a £440m spend has led to several new arrivals taking time to adapt on Merseyside.
“The sudden and shock death of Diogo Jota, in July, is also factored into the thinking. The popular Portuguese’s absence has cast a long shadow over this campaign behind the scenes and grief counsellors have been called to the club’s AXA Training Centre at times to help with those struggling to come to terms with those unimaginably tragic circumstances.
“Injuries have also been an issue with Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and most recently Hugo Ekitike all suffering season-ending setbacks. Alexander Isak, a £125m capture from Newcastle last year, was also sidelined for four months with a broken leg. Liverpool have also had to adjust to an unexpected drop-off from Mohamed Salah, who accused the club of being “thrown under the bus” during an explosive post-match outburst at Leeds United in early December.
“The reasons for the dip in form is not explained neatly or succinctly but performances have been alarming. Slot has been unable to get a championship squad purring, with only a handful of displays befitting a team who won the title by 10 points just 11 months ago.
“For all the extenuating circumstances, the head coach has remained under fire because of that. But FSG, its CEO of football Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes are said to remain unwavering in their backing of Slot, even if the Dutchman heads into the summer months with just a year left on the deal he signed in 2024.
“The action of signing a new deal would speaker louder than any words of support, however. “Results are noisy” is a phrase heard behind the scenes when discussing Liverpool but there can be little pushback against the idea that performances have rarely met the standard expected at Anfield and while the club’s supporter-base pride themselves on the backing they give their managers in tough periods, it must be stressed that the criticism is not consigned only to social media either. The match-going element of Liverpool’s worldwide fanbase has grown weary.”
“But Liverpool spent nearly six months looking for Jurgen Klopp’s successor and having won the title in his first year, those in charge want to give Slot a chance to prove their exhaustive recruitment search was correct.
“Last year’s scenes will suggest the former Feyenoord boss has already done that, but the reserves of goodwill have unquestionably started to evaporate for many. Getting that back remains critical.”
With Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson leaving at the end of the season, Liverpool will need to bring in quality players to augment the squad already at the club as they look ahead to a stronger 2026/27 campaign.