The comparison may be a rather lazy one, but nonetheless understandable. Arne Slot, the man who seems destined to step into Jurgen Klopp’s shoes at Liverpool, may be about to arrive in the Premier League as a fellow Dutchman departs, ducking under a sea of rotten tomatoes on his way out of Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag’s appalling second season at Old Trafford hit a new low on Monday, filleted and thrashed 4-0 by Crystal Palace. Despite an impressive 2022/23, the former Ajax boss appears destined to join an array of high-profile Dutch tacticians who departed the Premier League with their reputations black and blue.
Can Arne Slot buck the trend? Or is the Feyenoord boss, his appointment at Liverpool all-but tied up, destined to fall into the same trap that claimed Ten Hag, Louis van Gaal, Ronald Koeman and Frank de Boer?
A man who watched Slot’s thrilling Feyenoord side win the Eredivisie title in 2023 insists that the 45-year-old should not be written off just because of the flag on his passport, pointing out that his penchant for turning good players into great ones makes him a fine candidate to build on the foundations Klopp laid down at Anfield.
Arne Slot set to follow Erik ten Hag to Premier League
“Everyone is rightly enthusiastic about him,” Kieft, the former Ajax striker, tells De Telegraaf. “But that was also the case when Erik ten Hag left Ajax for Manchester United. However, you can say that things are not going so well there.”
You can say that again. That Selhurst Park capitulation was a record-breaking 13th Premier League defeat for Man United this term.
“However, Slot has a better vision than Ten Hag,” Kieft insists. “Slot undeniably makes players better individually, such as (Orkun) Kokcu, (Mats) Wieffer, (Lutsharel) Geertruida, (David) Hancko, (Igor) Paixao and this season also Quinten Timber.
“Before Slot, (Timber) was a dime a dozen football player. But he has now added specific qualities to his game. Timber has become much more dynamic, often gets into the opponent’s box and scores regularly.”
Interestingly, HITC have been told that three of the aforementioned sextet have been identified as players capable of following Slot from Rotterdam to Merseyside. Liverpool have been watching Hancko, Feyenoord’s £25 million-rated left-sided centre-half, long before Klopp confirmed his intention to ride off into the sunset.
Wieffer, the all-action enforcer at the heart of Slot’s midfield, is another Feyenoord player with admirers at Anfield. Ditto Timber, twin brother of Arsenal defender Jurrien.
Big decisions needed at Liverpool post-Jurgen Klopp
Kieft, meanwhile, hopes that Slot will be given the power to build a new-look Liverpool side in his image, with big decisions needing to be taken about some of the club’s most long-serving stars.
“Should he be happy that Liverpool picked him, or does he have something to demand there?,” Kieft wonders. “It is not to be hoped that Slot will only be happy with Liverpool (picking him).
“It will be important whether he can help decide on the squad, on reinforcements, on who stays, who doesn’t and listen to his ideas, (and) about (Virgil) Van Dijk and (Mo) Salah, for example.”