Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has turn into the first Reds player to communicate on the potential appointment of Arne Slot.
The Reds are closing in on Slot as they work on a take care of Feyenoord to make him their subsequent supervisor when Jurgen Klopp leaves the membership at the finish of the season.
Anfield officers contacted the Dutch champions on Wednesday with a first supply of compensation for the 49-year-old, who doesn’t have a launch clause in his contract.
The scenario is creating shortly and talks to deliver Slot to Anfield might even be concluded earlier than the weekend. He will inherit a successful-but-damaged squad, who look to have left the title race following their 2-0 defeat to native rivals Everton on Wednesday.
Van Dijk, who additionally captain the Netherlands nationwide staff, the similar nation that Slot is from, spoke of his countryman after Liverpool’s loss to Everton, and has excessive hopes of his potential arrival.
‘I believe Slot is certainly one of the higher Dutch coaches at the second, the 32-year-old mentioned. ‘With the means he performs and the philosophy he has, he generally is a Liverpool coach.
‘But I learn and listen to that it’s removed from full. We shall see. We will focus on that subsequent season, however that’s nonetheless a great distance off.’
The Reds have 4 video games remaining this season, and path leaders Arsenal by three factors. They are one level forward of defending champions Manchester City, who’ve two video games in hand.
Defeats to Crystal Palace and Everton have de-railed their title cost, with Slot set to be the man to try to kick the Reds onto the subsequent degree.
Slot, who was thought-about by each Tottenham and Chelsea final summer season, has discovered immense success since becoming a member of the Dutch facet in 2021 and has turn into certainly one of the most progressive coaches in European soccer.
He lately guided his facet Feyenoord to victory in the KNVB Cup; the second trophy he has received in command of the Rotterdam giants, having made them home champions 12 months in the past.
Van Dijk was essential of his team-mates following the defeat, questioning their need to win the Premier League as they dropped but extra factors.
Games like these, the naked minimal is combat,’ mentioned the defender. ‘We have been missing that at so many moments. Small challenges, some passes that weren’t clear so we got here into challenges that they received and so they received momentum out of it.
‘They have been having I do not know what number of set items. That might make a distinction as a result of it is a energy of theirs.
‘But we’ve got to look in the mirror and every certainly one of us has to suppose like, “Listen, you can’t accept this, you can’t accept the way we let our season end, if you play like we did today, you don’t deserve to win the league”.’