Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes appear to be coming to an end after a disastrous 2-0 defeat away at Merseyside rivals Everton on Wednesday night.
The Reds have endured a difficult few weeks and the Jurgen Klopp era is in danger of ending on an uncharacteristically low note.
The disappointing draw at Manchester United, the defeat to Crystal Palace, the Europa League exit at the hands of Atalanta… this has been a tricky period.
Wednesday’s defeat to Everton was the tip of the iceberg though as Liverpool not only saw the Toffees claim bragging rights but also leave Liverpool’s title hopes in tatters.
Everton were first to the ball and caused mayhem from set pieces, with both of their goals in a 2-0 win coming from dead balls.
The Toffees now appear safe from relegation and denting Liverpool’s title hopes was just an added bonus for Toffees fans.
Klopp is now in the final weeks of his time as Liverpool boss and the club’s new boss appears to be emerging…
Arne Slot set for Liverpool
HITC understands that Feyenoord boss Arne Slot is emerging as a top target for Liverpool.
Michael Edwards is a big fan of Slot and Liverpool are moving towards landing the Dutchman to replace Klopp.
Slot may not be a big name but he has completely transformed Feyenoord since his 2021 arrival.
The 45-year-old won the Eredivisie title last season and made himself a hero at De Kuip, not too dissimilar to Klopp at Anfield.
Feyenoord have a reputation as a ‘nearly club’ but that title win, with Feyenoord sweeping aside all of the competition in style, showed the quality of Slot’s coaching.
Not all Liverpool fans seem to be enthused by Slot becoming the top target and Jamie Carragher actually prefers somebody else…
Jamie Carragher on Thomas Tuchel
Carragher has spoken on Stick to Football and believes that Thomas Tuchel may have actually been a better fit for Liverpool.
Tuchel is leaving Bayern Munich this summer and his availability if bound to attract interest.
The German won the Champions League with Chelsea back in 2021 but left the club less than 18 months later and hasn’t really got his managerial career back on track.
Carragher has now suggested that Tuchel would have made more sense for Liverpool because of his history in the Champions League.
Tuchel’s Bayern are now in the semi-finals and if he goes a step further, it will be yet another final for him after previously getting there with Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
Carragher accepts that Tuchel’s time at Bayern hasn’t gone to plan, but believes he has ‘something about him’ which would have Liverpool fans backing him to challenge Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
“It’s not like you’re bringing in a Champions League sort of manager in,” said Carragher. “And the reason I wanted to mention this is because Liverpool are always going to be data-driven and the one manager who’s out there who is proper, where you go ‘oof’ and is available is Tuchel, and I just don’t think that Liverpool would go for those type of managers now, with the setup they’ve got behind the scenes.”
“I just think of… it feels like an appointment you’d make when Liverpool were almost maybe trying to get back into the top four. Right now, Liverpool are probably in the best top five or six teams in Europe and they have been for a few years and that’s why I go back to Tuchel.”
“He’s beat Pep. I just think of a guy standing on the sideline and you’re a Liverpool supporter and you’re looking at him thinking ‘he can go up against him’. If he gets to the final, he’ll have been in three of the last six Champions League finals. Now, I know it hasn’t gone perfectly at Bayern Munich for him, but the job he did at Chelsea and trying to take on Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep’s Man City, he’s got something about him – that’s my thing,” he added.
Slot won’t head to Anfield with that kind of reputation in place but Tuchel had to earn it and so did Klopp, building up their standing in the game through results.
Slot impressed at AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord and is now ready for the next step in his career.
Perhaps the jump from Feyenoord to Liverpool is a big one, but Slot deserves a chance to show that he can go up against Guardiola and Mikel Arteta with Liverpool clearly impressed by his work.