Jürgen Klopp has been conducting a thorough vetting process of Arne Slot, with a coach that has worked closely alongside the Dutchman making a secret visit to Liverpool. Klopp had an insightful chat with Henk de Jong, Slot's first boss in management, who was invited for a tour of Liverpool's facilities last week.

De Jong, currently managing Dutch second division side Cambuur, appointed Slot as his assistant ten years ago during his previous tenure at the club. Slot then took over full control in 2016.

After watching Liverpool's U21 side lose 2-0 to Arsenal, De Jong had a conversation with Klopp and his coaching staff, providing them with valuable information about Slot.

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"It was fantastic. A really special visit. Officially they had a couple of days off, but everyone just turned up" said De Jong, via the Mirror. "I saw Pep Lijnders too. The U21 coach, everyone. I watched the game against Arsenal and spoke to Jurrien Timber who played brilliantly in that game.

"They liked the fact that Arne Slot was my assistant at the start of his career. Sipke Hulshoff was also on my staff and he is coming with Arne as well. I told them all about it.

"Everyone at Liverpool is hoping that Arne is going to do really well. Pep Lijnders is not staying, but I sensed everyone at Liverpool is hoping Pep will come back to the club one day.

"They all spoke very highly about him and I really think he has built a big reputation for himself. Jürgen is really warm and kind. He said to me: 'I've heard you are the only football manager in the world who is funnier than me! How come we have never met before?'"

Meanwhile, De Jong finished his tour with a stop over to see Erik ten Hag, revealing: "I made a little 'switch' to Manchester United and went to have dinner with Erik and enjoyed a fantastic football evening with him."

Liverpool.com says: Liverpool has certainly done its homework on Slot, and looks to be leaving no stone unturned. Getting more insight into his character will certainly do no harm ahead of his expected arrival.

It is interesting to hear Klopp also spoke to De Jong. The outgoing boss doesn't seem to have had much influence, if any, on his successor, but it is good to know that he approves of Slot.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Mirror by clicking here.