Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Experts were pouring out from all sides as Arne Slot led Liverpool to Premier League title with the consummate ease of a seasoned English football coach.
The reality is that the Reds were written off after Jürgen Klopp bowed out with a shocking mic drop, and doubts grew after FSG’s rebranding failed to produce exciting transfer results in the 2024 summer window for debutant Slot, who had previously only found success in his Dutch homeland.
The 2025/26 campaign has been a stark and sobering change for the Dutch coach, whose champions squad has been bolstered by a host of expensive summer signings.
Liverpool have been a shell of themselves, but they have picked things up over the past month, 11 unbeaten after losing a staggering nine of 12 games in all competitions.
Despite everything, Slot’s position at the helm is far from assured.
The latest news on Arne Slot’s position at Liverpool
Slot have gone on a pragmatic unbeaten run over the past month, and they are now fourth in the Premier League after drifting to mid-table earlier.
Even so, much remains to be desired, and major sources such as The Athletic suggested that a further deterioration of results and a further deterioration of the atmosphere on Merseyside could make the boss’s mandate untenable.
If things go wrong, sources on TEAMtalk believe Xabi Alonso could be in the running to succeed him, having left his post at Real Madrid this week after a turbulent six months.
The report highlights that FSG is ready to open negotiations with the 44-year-old’s representatives when the opportunity arises.
This is somewhat corroborated by The Athletic, and it is worth remembering that Alonso, with a deep connection to Liverpool, was in contention ahead of Slot before opting to spend another season with Bayer Leverkusen after Klopp made his decision in early 2024.
Why FSG wants to appoint Alonso
Alonso was caught between pressure and expectations at Real Madrid, and he left his post midway through his first term in charge of Real Madrid.
Ask Florian Wirtz Or Jeremie Frimpong about this master tactician and they are expected to reveal much of his skills, with the £116million Liverpool playmaker once saying it was “it’s great to have a legend as a coach“.
A process of symbiosis between tactics and player-coach relationships largely paid off for Leverkusen. All were rewarded. The German club won their first ever Bundesliga title as the invincibles and also won the DFB-Pokal title. This camp thus sealed the immortal status in the Rhineland.
His departure from the Santiago Bernabeu – where he preferred a 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-3 formation – says more about Madrid’s culture and its (unreasonable) demands than it does about his training, and at Liverpool the Spanish icon would find a city, fan base and team more receptive to his philosophies.
|
Arne Slot to Liverpool (2024 versus 2025) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
2024 |
# |
2025 |
|
27 |
Games |
56 |
|
23 |
Victories |
30 |
|
3 |
Prints |
10 |
|
1 |
Losses |
16 |
|
2.66 |
PPG |
1.79 |
|
73 |
Goals scored |
98 |
|
27 |
Goals conceded |
71 |
|
Given Transfer market |
||
What is clear is that Slot’s decline in charge of Liverpool predates the start of the 2025/26 campaign. The Reds were slightly patchy towards the end of last season, lacking the all-consuming energy and incisiveness with which they played in the early months of Slot’s reign, storming through the Premier League.
This is no longer the case, and if an uptick doesn’t happen soon, Alonso could receive a call and an invitation to an emotional reunion with the Anfield club.
A managerial marriage between manager and club seems destined to happen, but Alonso won’t hang around for the Reds, of course, leaving sporting director Richard Hughes with a potentially difficult decision on his hands.
At Real Madrid, Alonso was caught between a rock and a hard place. He could have moved forward on hard ground, but it was clear he was on borrowed time.
Instead, he left and will now wait for the right role to come along. There will be no shortage of suitors.
Liverpool will certainly be at the front of the queue, and FSG must now consider whether Slot is the man to lead them forward in the long term, and whether this is an opportunity they can afford to pass up.
