Liverpool confirm Arne Slot appointment as new head coach

Liverpool have confirmed the appointment of Feyenoord manager Arne Slot as their new head coach to replace Jurgen Klopp.

The 45-year-old will officially begin his role at Anfield on June 1 - subject to a work permit - after Liverpool reached an agreement over a compensation package with Feyenoord.

Liverpool have not disclosed the length of Slot's contract, but the Dutchman is believed to have penned a three-year deal until the end of the 2026-27 campaign.

Slot arrives at Anfield on the back of a highly successful three-year reign at Feyenoord, whom he led to Eredivisie glory in the 2022-23 season, one year after they lost to Roma in the Europa Conference League final.

Following last year's top-flight success, Slot snubbed interest from Tottenham Hotspur to pen a new contract with the Rotterdam giants, who also clinched the 2023-24 KNVB Beker under his wing.

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Klopp leads Slot chants at Liverpool farewell

Two months before Klopp announced his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season, the Reds hierarchy were informed of his intentions and subsequently began their search for the German's successor.

After hiring Richard Hughes as their new sporting director and welcoming Michael Edwards back as Fenway Sports Group's CEO of Football, the Reds ramped up their search and were initially expected to go for Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso.

However, the former Liverpool midfielder snubbed the Reds, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to remain with the Bundesliga champions, a decision that the Merseyside giants were supposedly expecting as they turned their attention to Sporting Lisbon's Ruben Amorim.

A move for the 39-year-old ultimately fell through, apparently due to a disagreement over the compensation package, but the club moved quickly to agree a fee for Slot, believed to be £7.7m rising to £9.4m with performance-related add-ons.

Slot had already confirmed on numerous occasions that his switch to Liverpool was in the works, and his predecessor Klopp led the chants for the Dutchman in his Anfield farewell on Sunday, after the Reds beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 in his final Premier League match.

What is on Slot's agenda at Liverpool?

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As well as getting the squad accustomed to his style of playing in his first pre-season - although his high-intensity methods are not too dissimilar to Klopp - the 45-year-old faces some key transfer and contract decisions.

Slot arrives at a time when Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk are about to enter the final year of their Liverpool contracts, although all three players are expected to remain at Anfield to help oversee the transitional period.

A new centre-back and new midfielder could be targeted following the exits of Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara, fuelling suggestions that some of Slot's trusted Feyenoord performers - such as David Hancko or Mats Wieffer - could follow him to Anfield.

However, the Dutchman is thought to be prioritising the rebirth of attacker Darwin Nunez, who has mixed unpredictability with profligacy during his first two years in a Liverpool shirt and lost his place in the XI during the closing stages of the season.

Slot is apparently excited to work with the Uruguayan after masterminding the rise of Feyenoord number nine Santiago Gimenez, now a top transfer target for revered clubs across Europe.