Arne Slot: A closer look at Liverpool's prospective new manager

We have now reached Liverpool's third "frontrunner" for the honor of taking over from the one and only Jurgen Klopp at Anfield this summer.

First, it was Xabi Alonso following his meteoric rise guiding Bayer Leverkusen through their magical season. His arrival was almost seen as a foregone conclusion and fans and media alike were excited.

However, when he decided to stay at the German outfit, it was a shock, but in stepped Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP. He checked all the boxes, or so we thought, and he was penciled in as a near lock for the Liverpool job.

Yet, it recently came out that he was out of the running for the job and we were back to square one once again.

That brings us to now and Arne Slot. The 45-year old Dutch manager has been making a name for himself in recent years and is reportedly deep in negotiations with Liverpool to take the job this summer.

I felt it necessary to do some research on the potential new Reds gaffer so we know what too expect. So, without further ado, here we go.

Slot's high-intensity tactics will look familiar

He wants his team to play on the front foot as often as possible. Their defensive line is high up the pitch which means they are constantly in the opposition's face. He wants the ball to get forward as quickly as possible.

This is the not Barcelona tiki-taka style we all know. This is closer to the gegenpressing heavy metal football we saw during the peak Klopp years.

His 4-2-3-1 formation encourages the fullbacks to get forward and fully involved in the attack while the central midfielders drop a little deeper to link up with the defense. The likes of Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Bradley would theoretically thrive in this kind of setup.

He also encourages his side to hound and harry their opponents when they are not in possession which again, might make the transition smoother and illustrates why Michael Edwards and Co. are big fans of Slot.

History of coaching success in Dutch football

He got his big break when he was appointed as the AZ Alkmaar manager in the Dutch Eredivisie. He led them to multiple top four finishes including 2nd during the pandemic shortened season.

He even steered them to a famous victory over Napoli in the Champions League before he was hired on as the new boss of Dutch giants, Feyenoord.

He transformed the club almost instantly as in his first season with the club, they reached the final of the Europa Conference League where they fell in a hard fought battle 1-0 to Jose Mourinho's Roma. His side also finished 3rd in the league that season as well.

The peak of his career though came last season when Feyenoord won the Eredivisie title by 7 points over their rivals PSV. In addition, he also guided his side to the Europa League Quarterfinals.

Most recently, he won the Dutch Cup just a few weeks ago to secure his 2nd trophy in charge of Feyenoord. Through 146 matches at the helm in Rotterdam, his side's goal difference is a healthy +182.

Had a very respectable playing career

Slot scored 100 goals in his senior playing career from 462 appearances across a handful of clubs. He was an attacking midfielder that had above average passing range and astute vision on the field which helped alleviate his lack of physical gifts.

His best playing years came with FC Zwolle and NAC Breda where he had the longest stretches of success personally and as a team.

This is similar to Amorim who retired within recent memory and can relate to what the players are going through today. That is something that Slot should surely be able to do as well.

Summation

Overall, if Liverpool want to bring Arne Slot on board they will have to compensate Feyenoord with a lump sum of cash.

However, with the good work he has done for them and his clear interest in taking the next step, negotiations are said to be going smoothly as of this writing.

He has won multiple trophies which is a big plus and he has slightly more success in Europe then both Alonso and Amorim, for now at least. He's an energetic manager that will want the Reds to play aggressive and confident football.

He might not have been the top choice when this process began, but as you dig deeper, you find that he just might be the perfect one when all is said and done.