The exit of Liverpool could be a godsend for Arne Slot, who will succeed Jürgen Klopp as manager.
Arne Slot will undoubtedly be appreciative of everything that Liverpool has changed this summer. After all, he was able to secure one of the most important positions in football thanks to Jürgen Klopp’s departure. However, some may find the abrupt change at Anfield to be a little unsettling. A small army of coaching staff is expected to follow Klopp out the door, leaving important posts at Liverpool vacant. Although some employees will never fail to follow their managers, the magnitude of Klopp’s departure is unprecedented. Both goalkeeping coach John Achterberg and assistant manager Pep Lijnders, who were there before the German at Liverpool, have made the decision to go on. There is concern over the potential “brain drain” effect. After all, despite having inherited rather than appointed the Dutch coach, Klopp eventually came to rely on Lijnders more than anybody else. In comparison, Slot’s first day on the job will find the building nearly vacant at this rate. However, given the situation, this might perhaps be a blessing in disguise. It’s already a difficult enough mission for Slot to try to succeed Klopp; throwing him into the same backroom hierarchy and expecting him to do what the German has done would be asking for trouble. Slot was selected partly due to his tactical resemblances to Klopp, and Liverpool will not be starting from scratch. However,
Since the team has essentially cleaned house, the incoming head coach will have greater freedom to inject his own ideas and won’t be excessively constrained by outdated notions. There’s a sense that Slot would have been entrusted with essentially steering the ship toward Klopp’s intended direction if he had been working with the same crew. He won’t have to tear up the map; instead, he can more readily make his own changes and won’t be perceived as a less-than-perfect Klopp clone. Along with several of his current employees, he will be leading the charge. That is the additional seeming advantage; although Liverpool will still have to agree on compensation terms, the clean-out at makes it much simpler to go into Slot’s selected Feyenoord assistants at Anfield.