Gary Lineker has heaped praise on Liverpool’s recruitment team for landing on Arne Slot as Jurgen Klopp's ideal successor, saying the club “needed” the Dutch manager’s specific skillset. Liverpool players and fans alike feared the worst when legendary manager, Klopp, announced last January he would be leaving at the end of the 2023/24 season.

After all, the German had brought a first Premier League trophy to Anfield and won the Champions League, among other silverware. There was plenty of clamour over who would succeed Klopp, with several outlets reporting that legendary Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso – fresh off the back of an unbeaten domestic double in Germany – was the club’s first-choice candidate.

But the Spaniard’s commitment to Leverkusen led to Liverpool turning their attention to Feyenoord’s successful yet underrated head coach, Slot. Nine months later, the decision to appoint the Dutchman is now widely considered to be a masterstroke, as Slot’s Reds are favourites to win the league and the Champions League in his first season in England.

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There has been no sign of a drop off under his management – if anything he has reinvigorated a side which narrowly fell short last season under his predecessor. And Match of the Day host Lineker believes the Reds hierarchy got their appointment spot on, having been linked with a host of other candidates including Alonso and now-Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim.

Lineker said on The Rest Is Football Podcast: “He can definitely be considered an excellent piece of recruitment by Liverpool for what he’s done. He’s come in, he’s taken over from a giant in Jurgen Klopp.

"I think they needed someone with a big personality. Someone that not necessarily played the same way but would carry on from where he left off.

“I also think it’s testament to the way that Klopp left the club in such good health. But I think that’s probably the most important part of scouting and recruitment - the coach. He’s done a terrific job so far. It’s hard to imagine anyone stopping them in the league this season.”

Fellow pundit and former Manchester City star Micah Richards agreed, chiming in with: “I think he was the man to manage the right personalities at the right time, also with his tactical nous, it seems like a great fit.”

The straight-talking Slot has already endeared himself to the Anfield faithful, while he has also stamped his own personality on the team.

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Despite the notion that he has simply inherited Klopp’s well-oiled machine, Liverpool this season have employed a more sustainable and balanced approach in their play with the ball, which has also allowed them to form a more solid defensive base.

That, on top of getting the best out of the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, has resulted in Liverpool running away with the Premier League, currently sitting six points clear of second placed Arsenal with a game in hand. In the new Champions League league phase, they finished gameweek eight two points clear to progress automatically to the knockout phase, only losing their final dead rubber match due to a heavily rotated line-up.

Slot could very well be on for a treble in his first season at the helm, having secured Liverpool’s place in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United on March 16. He boasts a staggering record of 29 wins, five draws and four losses across all competitions since taking to the Anfield dugout.