Last summer, FSG started beating the same drum: Liverpool will not need another hot summer to spend many years, having just finished a record-breaking window after winning the Premier League.
What followed is difficult to describe, close to being completely incomprehensible. The Reds have been sent out of the FA Cup and the Champions League in recent weeks, and their hopes of getting on the train of Europe’s elite at the end of the season have stalled after a poor run of form from the get-go.
Even a brilliant run to start the season was done with a winning smile, late goals compounded the poor performance.
Fifth in the Premier League and miles away from last year’s impressive form, something has to change. FSG (outside) has maintained its support for the under-fire Arne Slot during this testing period, but FSG is fickle, and the end of business without an upgrade could mean the end of last year’s hero.
FSG is already in talks to replace Slot
Slot has taken a lot of criticism from all and sundry this season, and even with Liverpool tearing up fourth/fifth place in the Premier League, keeping the faith would be a big risk. Liverpool were never good enough.
Whichever way you spin it, the truth is that last year’s champions were a shell of themselves, lacking physicality and confidence and technical efficiency.
|
Arne Slot’s Premier League Record with Liverpool |
||
|---|---|---|
|
24/25 |
# |
25/26 |
|
38 |
The same |
32 |
|
25 |
It wins |
15 |
|
9 |
Drawings |
7 |
|
4 |
Loss |
10 |
|
86:41 |
GF/GA |
52:42 |
|
84 |
Points |
52 |
|
2.21 |
PPM |
1.63 |
Sporting director Richard Hughes will remain at the club, ending speculation he will end his tenure as Liverpool’s sporting director early amid interest from the Saudi Pro League.
Naturally, the former Bournemouth manager will be keen to appoint Andoni Iraola, who will leave his post at the Vitality Stadium on a free transfer this summer.
The thought of Iraola is good – he has been praised as “one of the best managers in the Premier League” by Fabrizio Romano – but there will be a risk with such an appointment, the Spaniards are young and untested at the highest level.
For Julian Nagelsmann, Liverpool can still appoint a new manager and have a lot of work ahead of them while replacing Slot with a proven quality player.
According to TEAMtalk, FSG have already entered into talks with the German manager’s representatives, and he can be sure to call time on his current job after the World Cup.
But to pursue that interest, Liverpool will know that Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested, and that Nagelsmann is keen to try his hand at the Premier League and lead a top-class outfit like Liverpool.
The fact that Nagelsmann’s own representatives are the first to make contact highlights his desire for a change, and with the report suggesting that a move to Anfield would be ‘of great interest’ to the young coach, it was Slot who should be fired.
Why Nagelsmann can Slot & Iraola better
Nagelsmann’s resume speaks for itself. Only 38 years old, he has achieved a lot in the dugout, winning the Bundesliga and the DFL-Supercup in his full season with Bayern Munich after leading projects with Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.
Iraola has Premier League experience on his side, but his Cherries side have lacked consistency at times this season, and while expectations will change at Liverpool, Nagelsmann is already proven at the top of the game, and he may just be stepping on the rubber.”world class” is famous, as journalist Rory Smith said, for the successful campaign of the World Cup in North America.
Even his sacking from Bayern Munich raised eyebrows, and it’s not something that should stop the Liverpool manager from leaving.
A versatile and sophisticated coach, Nagelsmann shares with Slot an eye for fine details (even if that eye has wandered to the Liverpool manager this time). However, he differs in that he is a fan of Klopp’s football, with the famous Merseyside boss saying he is “his biggest fan”.
Nagelsmann plays with a 4-2-3-1 formation, something that could help Florian Wirtz at ten. Interestingly, Wirtz is already under the wing of his home nation in the national team.
His method of gegenpressing meets the emphasis of possessiveness. In this respect, he shares some of the managerial qualities of Slot and Klopp, and maintains a competitive edge with Iraola, whose Bournemouth side are as fit and dangerous as any team in the top flight.
Nagelsmann is one of the sharpest, most intelligent minds in football. He denied his age and lack of experience to establish himself with Hoffenheim and then Leipzig. Even at Bayern, his short spell has yielded success, with him being hailed as “the best young coach in Europe” by journalist Josh Bunting.
Liverpool will cash in on his appointment, with Aberdeen sporting director Lutz Pfannenstial even commenting that he is “better than Guardiola” when it comes to deceiving his opponents.
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