Arne Slot isn’t out of the woods yet with Liverpool fans, but the ownership looks set to stick by him next season — a point strengthened by a recent reveal from Fabrizio Romano.
In a manager special transfer report, the Italian touched on the future of Slot at Liverpool and what he has heard about long-time target Xabi Alonso.
Ever since he left Real Madrid, the links to the Liverpool job have persisted. Some sources even reported that Liverpool had agreed a deal with Alonso, but Romano has poured cold water on those claims with a new reveal.
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Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool haven’t spoken to Xabi Alonso in a long time
The rumours around replacing Slot with Alonso have been amplified by Liverpool’s poor form this season, but it never got so bad that FSG were pushing for a managerial change.
As Romano shared on his YouTube channel: “On Xabi Alonso, I know you have many links, many questions. Someone is even saying in Germany it’s already done and Xabi Alonso is very close to Liverpool but at the moment I’m not aware about that.
“I’m not aware of Xabi Alonso already in talks with Liverpool. Liverpool have not approached Xabi Alonso so far. Then if they will do that in June or whenever, I will let you know, but at the moment I’m not aware of Liverpool making any approaches.
Xabi Alonso and Arne Slot embrace after Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield.
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“Last time they had conversations was before Arne Slot got appointed as the new Liverpool coach a few years ago. But in that case, Alonso decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen and then prepare his future move to Real Madrid. But that’s it at the moment. Nothing else to say on Xabi Alonso and Liverpool.”
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If Romano is to be believed, it does suggest that the noise around Liverpool’s interest in Alonso has been overblown. The club have made no moves towards getting the former Reds midfielder in the door for next season.
Romano on Arne Slot’s status as Liverpool manager
Along with discussing the Alonso speculation, Romano added further evidence that Slot will remain at the helm at Anfield.
He said: “As I always told you at the end of the season there will be a season review at Liverpool involving everyone to decide what’s going to happen at the club in the future.
“But at the moment, Arne Slot has always received support from the owners and from the club. So that remains the case. At the moment, Slot is not receiving any message about the possibility of being fired at the end of the season.”
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Florian Wirtz knee slides in celebration after scoring for Liverpool during their Premier League match against Crystal Palace at Anfield (Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC).
Photo credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC
With Champions League qualification all but secured, we have a fairly good idea of how that review will go. It hasn’t been good enough at Liverpool this season, but the bare minimum objective has been achieved.
The Dutchman has enough credit in the bank to get to the start of next season.
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