Two factors gave Arne Slot edge with Liverpool insiders as more coaching changes on the way

The Jurgen Klopp era is officially over.

And its place come the Arne Slot years, with Klopp's replacement formally confirmed on a three-year deal on Monday evening.

Slot becomes Liverpool's first-ever 'head coach', which is a distinction to reflect the significant change in structure at the club and within ownership Fenway Sports Group from June 1, with the returns of Michael Edwards and Julian Ward and the additions of sporting director Richard Hughes and Pedro Marques, who joins from Benfica in a technical role within the FSG setup.

READ MORE: Inside painstaking process that led FSG to Arne Slot as Liverpool's first head coach

READ MORE: Mohamed Salah plans could be thrown into chaos as Liverpool brace for pre-season disruption

Here's all the latest off-diary Reds news as the ECHO brings you the titbits from around Anfield in his Liverpool Notebook

Slot tasked with keeping players fit

One of the many factors behind Liverpool's decision to give Arne Slot the nod to replace Jurgen Klopp was his communication skills.

Slot's ability to converse and get his ideas across in an informative yet digestible manner has been hailed by figures with knowledge of the situation.

That has been honed during his time at Feyenoord where Slot would deliver his pre-match team talks in English, meaning there will be no language barrier to overcome, something which was not the case for some of the others on the shortlist.

His ability to keep players fit has also been hailed behind the scenes with his work alongside head of performance Ruben Peeters, who is expected to join him on Merseyside, proving integral to staving off fitness concerns, which is something that has blighted Liverpool in recent months.

Too many of Liverpool's key men spent large spells on the sidelines last term and avoiding a similar situation in 24/25 will be key to helping Slot build on the third-place finish.

It's been reported that Slot and his staff monitor sleeping patterns to ensure players are at peak condition on match-days and his openness to new methods in the areas of sports science and medical are seen as important aspects to keeping Liverpool's best players fit for longer spells going forward.

Set-piece coach wanted

Liverpool are in the market for a set-piece coach to join Arne Slot's backroom staff and have set out an advertisement for the role on LinkedIn.

The networking site's job spec calls for "a tactical specialist responsible for maximising the team's performance" in set-piece situations and the addition of someone with expertise of free-kick and corner deliveries at Anfield is in-keeping with a growing trend at the elite level.

Arsenal scored the most goals from set-pieces last season, including the opening goal of their 1-1 draw with the Reds at Anfield back in December and their improvements in those areas have come through the design of Nicolas Jover.

In total, Mikel Arteta's men scored 20 times from set-piece deliveries and Liverpool are now seeking to bring in someone with a similar track record to what will be a new-look backroom team under Slot.

The club say they want someone who will be able to improve players' specific set-piece skills like shooting, heading and delivery into the box, while maintaining databases of the team's development across such metrics.

Communication, attention to detail and clarity of information will also be assessed, according to the advertisement, as the Reds look for further marginal gains in what will be an entirely new structure and backroom team going forward.

Taffarel staying on, Alisson confirms

While Liverpool are losing so many of the backroom team alongside Jurgen Klopp, it appears as though Alisson Becker has confirmed goalkeeping coach Claudio Taffarel is staying put.

While the likes of head of goalkeeping John Achterberg and assistant Jack Robinson are getting set to move alongside elite development coach Vitor Matos, assistant managers Peter Krawietz and Pep Lijnders and head of fitness and conditioning Andreas Kormayer, 1994 World Cup winner Taffarel is remaining on the payroll.

“I think all of these guys did an amazing job,” Alisson said. “Of course we wanted to have them more around here [for longer]. In my case as a goalkeeper working directly with Johnny and Jack.

"[Taffarel is staying] it looks like, looks like. But the experience that we had the last years, I wish I could stay with them more, but it’s not in my hands. I love those guys, not only as goalie coaches but as people as well.”

Taffarel joined in November 2021 on the recommendation of Alisson, who worked with the coach during their time in the Brazil national setup.