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Arne Slot responds to Liverpool transfer advice and outlines what he reads 'everywhere'

Arne Slot will take over from Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool this summer.
Arne Slot will take over from Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool this summer. -Credit:Photo by Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images


Arne Slot has responded to some advice given to him regarding transfers before he moves from Feyenoord to Liverpool this summer. The 45-year-old is set to replace Jürgen Klopp at Anfield.

Former Netherlands star Wesley Sneijder recently told Slot to avoid having too many Dutch players in the dressing room amid transfer links with Feyenoord duo Lutsharel Geertruida (via De Telegraaf) and Mats Wieffer (via HITC) on the basis that not having a mixture could be unhealthy. But Liverpool will not be signing either purely on the basis that they know the incoming head coach.

Dutch sporting director Marcel Brands, who was previously at Everton, also had some advice for Slot when he arrives in the Premier League. Essentially: don't bother with signing players from the Eredivisie.

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"Don't focus blindly on attracting five Dutch players," Brands said during an appearance on Dutch television. "He has to look very carefully at what he needs with his style of football. Only settle for top players.

"Slot will be working at one of the biggest clubs in England. You have to realize that. Liverpool has supporters from all over the world, and the pressure is always there. Just like Manchester United, they really are the biggest clubs in England, but it is a fantastic challenge."

The reluctance about moving for Dutch players almost certainly stems from the lack of success that Manchester United has had with signing several Ajax stars that Erik ten Hag knew well. Liverpool, however, will be nowhere near as wasteful in the transfer market and would never had thought about spending $108m (£85m/€100m) on Antony, as just one example.

"That’s good advice from people who have worked in the Premier League and have made their mark in football," Slot responded while speaking to Voetbal Zone. "But I don’t think you should always judge based on moments from the past.

"I also read everywhere about the success rate of Dutch coaches in England. There are so many variables. If a player is good, it shouldn’t matter what level he comes from. But at the moment, there’s no talk of anything because nothing has been officially confirmed yet."

Liverpool.com says: With Michael Edwards heading things up and Slot working as a head coach underneath Richard Hughes, the new Liverpool sporting director, the structure at Anfield is completely different from that at Old Trafford. Liverpool can be trusted to make sensible judgments in the summer transfer market and as Slot says, if a player is good enough, it doesn't matter where they come from.