The Liverpool hierarchy had a big decision to make once it became clear that Jurgen Klopp would be leaving the club at the end of last season and appointing Arne Slot was a leap of faith for many given he was untested outside the Netherlands.
Slot has taken managing Liverpool like a duck to water and his side sit second in the Premier League table while emerging as a real contender to win the league this season.
The Dutchman has improved players such as Ibrahima Konate and repurposed Ryan Gravenberch as an elite defensive midfielder once the club failed to sign a number 6 last summer.
Liverpool looked at several coaches before appointing Slot and Ruben Amorim, who will take charge of Manchester United later this month, was also heavily linked with the job at Anfield.
The Reds ultimately opted for Slot and Jamie Carragher indicated that there could be a reason why the Dutchman was preferred over Amorim.
Arne Slot represented a direct transition from Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool had to be mindful that the new manager would be taking charge of a squad built by Klopp and there were never going to be large-scale changes.
One of the reasons Slot has been praised is the way he has managed to leave his impression on a group of players assembled by the former manager.
Amorim is wedded to his three-at-the-back style and it would have been a major departure from the way Liverpool played under Klopp.
Carragher insisted that to Liverpool, Slot represented a chance at continuity from Klopp while the incoming Manchester United boss would have radically altered things.
Can you name the club Liverpool signed these players from?
Liverpool were still a club built on Klopp’s image and the club wanted someone who would represent continuity and avoid any radical departures from the ways that brought success.
“Amorim is one of the current generations of coaches who play three centre-halves – Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso and Inter Milan’s Simone Inzaghi are the same”, Carragher wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph.
“My suspicion is that one of the reasons Liverpool favoured Slot over Amorim last summer is because the Dutchman prefers the more traditional four at the back, so the transition was easier for the squad he inherited.
“Under Jurgen Klopp, the style of the first team was mirrored down to academy level to ensure those who made the step up were familiar with the playing patterns.”
Slot’s Liverpool hammered Manchester United in September but there will be a new manager in the Red Devils dugout when the two sides again face each other later in the campaign.
