Advertisement

Arne Slot responds to clear message by Feyenoord fans before leaving for Liverpool

Arne Slot is going to be Liverpool's next manager (or head coach).
Arne Slot is going to be Liverpool's next manager (or head coach). -Credit:Photo by Geert van Erven/Soccrates/Getty Images


All eyes were on Liverpool vs Spurs as the penultimate home game under the leadership of Jürgen Klopp took place. Going four goals up and conceding twice only when they took their foot off the gas, the Reds put on a bit of show.

Cody Gakpo, Harvey Elliott and Mohamed Salah were all excellent and if Liverpool can maintain that against Aston Villa and then Wolves, as well as giving Klopp the most fitting send-off, it will also shape the narrative of the summer. Ending on a high means that the beginning of the Arne Slot era will be welcomed in with as few question marks as possible.

As Liverpool put a few past Guglielmo Vicario in the Tottenham goal, Slot's Feyenoord was dismantling PEC Zwolle (incidentally, one of the clubs that the 45-year-old coach used to play for). Ayase Ueda, Santiago Giménez (two), Luka Ivanušec and Lutsharel Geertruida all scored in a 5-0 victory.

READ MORE: Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool still at risk of nightmare scenario ruining Anfield farewell

READ MORE: Roy Keane issues blunt Cody Gakpo verdict and names what must change in Liverpool career

During the Liverpool game, Klopp's song rang around Anfield even when the scoreline was only 1-0. The German never likes that sort of thing to begin too early, but so near the end of his tenure, now is not the time for arguments.

And something similar was going on at Feyenoord. 'Stand up for Arne Slot,' was the chant in Rotterdam, the Daily Mail's Lewis Steele reports, with the departing boss responding with a wave. At the end of the match, he even did his own version of Klopp's full-time fist pumps.

Liverpool is yet to announce that Slot will be taking over as its new head coach but the Dutchman is expected to arrive at the end of the season. He is the chosen candidate with Liverpool having undergone an extensive search and Feyenoord, like Liverpool, has just two matches left before the summer, with his final home game on the same day as Klopp's last match at Anfield.

"I'm sitting here with the Feyenoord emblem on my chest, so in principle, the intention is that it's all about Feyenoord," Slot said on Friday ahead of the weekend's game. "I have said before that I am confident that it will be done. I don't know when that will be. But I expect an agreement will be reached."

Slot plays similar football to Klopp and clearly has a bond with the Feyenoord support. If there is one thing that any Klopp successor needs, it is an ability to say the right things and it appears the Dutchman has the right kind of character.