Arne Slot's Liverpool legacy is difficult to analyse. In his first season, the Dutchman led the Reds to the Premier League title, one of only six men to achieve this since 1947, after Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Kenny Dalglish and Jürgen Klopp. However, Slot's second season was a disaster, with the Reds losing 20 matches across all competitions for the first time since 1992/93.
Thus, after only just sneaking into the top five, he was sacked in May and replaced by Andoni Iraola. In an open letter to supporters, Slot defended his time at Anfield:
"Liverpool’s 20th league title belongs to all of us and it will remain an important chapter in its history. For that, we should all be proud. This club will always judge itself by the biggest honours... I also leave knowing the club is exactly where it belongs: amongst Europe’s elite. Securing Champions League football was an important responsibility... a new generation is emerging, ready to write its own story and embrace the responsibility that comes with wearing this shirt. "Arne Slot to Liverpool supporteres
Since that letter was published earlier this summer, we had not heard from Slot, until now.
Given that he is currently out of work, Slot has been linked with plenty of jobs in recent weeks. He was touted as a potential successor to Matthias Jaissle at Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, which never felt likely, as well as being among the leading candidates to become the new Dutch national team manager.
The Netherlands are currently in the market for a new boss, after Ronald Koeman was sacked, following their World Cup round of 32 exit at the hands of Morocco on penalties. This felt like a perfect landing spot for Slot. One of the challenges he faced while at Liverpool was the fact that his wife Mirjam and two children remained in Rotterdam, in an attempt to not disrupt their education. Thus, the Holland national team role appeared ideal.
However, speaking to Dutch outlet Voetbal International, he confirms that this will not be his next job:
"Over the past few weeks... various reports have appeared regarding the vacancy at the Dutch national team, suggesting that I had withdrawn from the process after lengthy negotiations, including regarding salary and contract duration. That speculation is incorrect. We simply never reached that stage of the talks. "Arne Slot on the Netherlands job
Slot also added that "at this stage of my career, I prefer to see myself on the training pitch with my players every day, something that is simply not possible in the same way with a national team". He was quick to keep this alive as a possibility in the future however:
"It would be a great honour to represent my country as national coach one day. However, this was not the right moment for me. "Arne Slot on the Netherlands job
So, what next for Slot and the KNVB? Well, the Netherlands' next match is now just 44 days away, welcoming Germany to the Johan Cruijff Arena in the UEFA Nations League. Of course, it will be Jürgen Klopp in the away dugout that night, leading die Mannschaft for the first time. Right now, it seems as though former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is the most-likely man to be in charge of the Dutch, having been Koeman's assistant this summer.
For Slot, it is tough to forecast where he will next surface. Having won the Eredivisie title in charge of Feyenoord, he might not want to take over one of the Netherlands big three again. Would he be offered another massive Premier League job? Hard to say. Maybe the Bundesliga perhaps? Who knows. It is a situation worth keeping an eye out for.
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