Not just Edwards and Hughes: Another key figure at Liverpool had been wowed by Arne Slot
Arne Slot ultimately convinced Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes that he was the right man for the head coach job at Liverpool, and another key figure from within the club has also been wowed by the 45-year-old. As reported by The Athletic, Jurgen Klopp’s long-time assistant Pep Lijnders – who’s leaving LFC to take charge […]
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Arne Slot ultimately convinced Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes that he was the right man for the head coach job at Liverpool, and another key figure from within the club has also been wowed by the 45-year-old.
As reported by The Athletic, Jurgen Klopp’s long-time assistant Pep Lijnders – who’s leaving LFC to take charge of Red Bull Salzburg – has frequently talked up the work of his fellow Dutchman in conversations with senior staff at Anfield.
The Reds’ new boss had actually visited the 41-year-old’s house when he was taking his first tentative steps in youth coaching rougly 10 years ago, with the pair spending countless hours exchanging ideas.
Lijnders considers Slot to be the best Dutch coach in football, impressed by his tactical nous, innovative nature, ‘clear playing style’ and the right persona to handle the expectations which’ll come with taking on the Liverpool job.
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Although the decision as to Klopp’s replacement was always going to be a pragmatic, data-driven one from Edwards and Hughes, we’d venture to suggest that Lijnders’ testimonials in speaking to the Anfield hiearchy also played a part in the eventual hire.
Klopp’s number two has a very impressive reputation as a coach in his own right, and he too is preparing to take on a significant challenge by accepting the manager’ job at Salzburg, where anything but reclaiming the Austrian league title they lost to Sturm Graz this year would be deemed a failure.
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For Slot to be given such a ringing endorsement by a man who’d worked at Liverpool for years, and would therefore be fully attuned to the bells and whistles of being a figurehead for the club, must’ve struck a chord with LFC chiefs.
Whoever came in straight after the legendary German would inevitably have an extremely difficult act to follow, but the 45-year-old appears to relish that challenge. Although Lijnders may be leaving, for the new man in charge to have his backing is a very good sign.
EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Questions Arne Slot must answer at Liverpool, where Amorim went wrong and much more!The post Not just Edwards and Hughes: Another key figure at Liverpool had been wowed by Arne Slot appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.