Next Liverpool Manager Odds: Slot emerges as frontrunner
Will Jackson Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has emerged as the new heavy favourite to take over at Liverpool, after it was confirmed he was set to open initial talks to be Jurgen Klopp’s successor.
Ruben Amorim, Xabi Alonso and Julien Nagelsmann had been the three previous names to be heavily linked to the role and at various stages been considered favourites, but one by one they have dropped out of the race, leaving Slot as the top candidate.
The Dutchman is expected to enter talks with Liverpool, who are still in the Premier League title race, this week and it would represent a surprising choice for the manager’s role given the names previously linked with the job.
Next Liverpool Manager Odds
Arne Slot has previously been linked to roles at Leeds and Tottenham, but now appears destined for Anfield in a move not too dissimilar to when Klopp arrived at the club in 2015. Here is a list of the other names in the running to replace the crowd favourite.
- Arne Slot - 3/10
- Ruben Amorim - 8/1
- Roberto De Zerbi - 10/1
- Pep Ljinders - 16/1
- Thomas Frank - 20/1
- Gary O’Neil - 20/1
- Jose Mourinho - 20/1
- Thomas Tuchel - 28/1
Odds correct at time of writing with William Hill (April 24th, 2pm)
Meet the Candidates
Let’s take a closer look at some of the names linked to the Liverpool job.
Arne Slot
The current Feyenoord manager has been at De Kuip since 2021, having previously been at AZ Alkmaar. In his first season he led the club to the Europa Conference League final in its first year, eventually losing to Jose Mourinho’s Roma. The following season the club were again knocked out by Roma, this time in the quarter-finals of the Europa League and went all the way in the league - the first time they had lifted the title in six years. He has been linked with a move to the Premier League twice before when Leeds and Tottenham came knocking, and he came close to moving both times only to stay put with the Dutch club.
Slot’s style is considered to be a decent match for Klopp’s, with his side’s preferring to dominate possession but crucially playing with high intensity that focuses on quick transitions and turnovers.
Ruben Amorim
This time last week, Amorim was the toast of Liverpool and considered a shoo-in to replace Klopp, having been regularly tipped to move on to the Premier League from Sporting Lisbon. However links have emerged between him and West Ham which quickly put the dampener on any hopes Liverpool fans had, and his odds have drifted as a result.
Sporting are on course for a second league title since he joined the club in 2020 - which is some achievement in a league dominated by Benfica and Porto - and have done that with an entertaining, attack-minded style of play. At just 39, Amorim clearly has time on his side and if he can replicate his success at Sporting in another league, he will place himself among Europe’s elite coaches and surely it’s only a matter of time before he manages at the top end of the Champions League.
Roberto De Zerbi
It would undoubtedly be a big step up for De Zerbi, who has impressed in his two-year stay at Brighton so far. He has earned plaudits for an energetic and entertaining style of play, something that would fit in well at Liverpool while his development of players with the Seagulls has also proved his coaching ability.
Doubts remain over his ability to coach at the very highest level, with Brighton struggling in 10th this season after such an impressive campaign last year while they did well to qualify from the groups in the Europa League only to be heavily beaten by Roma in the round of 16. There is a strong argument that De Zerbi has taken Brighton as far as he can, but a step up to one of the biggest clubs in Europe would undoubtedly be a big ask and the failure of Graham Potter at Chelsea may make clubs wary of taking on another Brighton manager.
Pep Ljinders
Ljinders has been Liverpool assistant for a long time, having held the position for three years under Brendan Rodgers between 2014 and 2017, before picking up the role again in 2018 and held it ever since. As is fairly typical with long-term partnerships, Ljinders has been linked with the manager’s role with the idea of continuity in mind, but it so rarely works for a recognised number two to emerge as the main man immediately after the departure of the former manager.
Ljinders only has one experience of being a manager, and his spell at NEC last just five months after failing to secure promotion to the Eredivisie. But he has hinted that he would love to take on the Liverpool job one day, and at just 41 he has time on his side. He has been linked to jobs in Turkey among others and that could be an ideal stepping stone to bigger jobs down the line.
Gary O’Neil
The current Wolves boss and former Bournemouth man has impressed since stepping up from the caretaker role in 2022 to become the main man. He kept the Cherries up last season and, having been given the Wolves job at late notice and with the club in turmoil, has exceeded all expectations in the midlands.
With such little experience and for two mid-table clubs, it came as a surprise to many when it was reported that O’Neil had been interviewed for a role at Liverpool with his ties to sporting director Richard Hughes thought to be crucial in that. O’Neil was previously a coach with the Liverpool under-21s and with his coaching abilities widely recognised, maybe it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him return to Anfield in some capacity - but whether that’s as a manager remains to be seen.
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