Liverpool on Monday confirmed Feyenoord coach, Arne Slot, as Jurgen Klopp’s successor to the Premier League club.
The 45-year-old Dutchman will start as head coach on June 1st, Liverpool announced in a statement, pending the issuance of a work visa.
The club did not indicate in their statement how long Slot would be under contract, although Sky Sports claimed it believed Slot had agreed to a three-year agreement.
Liverpool agreed to a settlement deal worth up to £9.4 million ($12 million), but Slot’s arrival has been an open secret.
During his final pre-match press conference at the Eredivisie club on Friday, he announced that Anfield was his next stop.
After announcing his resignation in January, Klopp managed his last match on Sunday, a 2-0 victory against Wolves.
In his farewell address to the Anfield faithful, the German asked supporters to fully back Arne Slot.
“You welcome the new manager like you welcomed me,” he said. “You go all-in from the first day. And you keep believing and you push the team.”
After making an impression in his first managerial position at AZ Alkmaar, Arne Slot moved to Feyenoord in 2021.
At the end of his rookie season, he guided the Dutch giants to their first-ever Europa Conference League final. They fell short against Roma under Jose Mourinho, 1-0.
The previous season, Slot gave De Kuip just his second league title in twenty-four years before signing a new three-year contract.
“You can see people are genuinely sorry you are leaving,” he said on Friday.
“You can say that with words, but when you see it in people’s faces, it affects me quite a lot.”
Feyenoord had a fantastic season, taking home the Dutch Cup and finishing second to PSV Eindhoven, who were unbeatable.
Virgil van Dijk, a fellow Dutchman and captain of Liverpool, praised Slot’s adventurous style of play, stating it would fit in well at Anfield.
At first, Xabi Alonso, the manager of Bayer Leverkusen and a former midfield player for Liverpool, was the front-runner to succeed Klopp at Anfield.
Alonso, though, has decided to remain at Leverkusen after helping the team win their first-ever Bundesliga championship.
In Klopp’s final season in command, Liverpool qualified for the Champions League the following season by finishing third in the Premier League and winning the League Cup.
