'Ensured' — Neil Jones reveals what made Liverpool choose Arne Slot over Amorim and De Zerbi

As the end of the 2023/24 season approaches, it’s now just a matter of time before Liverpool fans bid a tear-jerking farewell to Jurgen Klopp and prepare to welcome his replacement. The Reds have been working hard to find as close to the perfect successor to Klopp as possible, and Arne Slot is set to become that candidate.

Of course, there were a number of names linked to the Liverpool job before the Feyenoord manager, including former Anfield icon Xabi Alonso. The ex-midfielder remained the priority target for some time, until he confirmed he will be staying with Bayer Leverkusen for at least the 2024/25 season.

A number of reports then claimed that Sporting CP’s Rúben Amorim was the new number one option but Neil Jones has shed some extra light on this. Speaking to Caught Offside, the reporter has revealed just how far along Liverpool’s talks with Slot have come, and how the Dutchman edged out the rest of the competition along the way.

“It is just a matter of time now before Arne Slot is confirmed as Liverpool’s next manager, with everything agreed between both the clubs and the man himself,” Jones said.

“Rúben Amorim was strongly linked, and is understood to have shown up well during the due diligence process, but sources always insisted that the suggestion that he was a ‘preferred’ candidate was incorrect, and as I believe it, discussions never reached an advanced stage.

“The same can be said for any number of other candidates — Roberto De Zerbi, Gary O’Neil, Unai Emery. Slot’s appeal is that he has achieved success at two different clubs, both of whom have punched above their weight with him as manager.

“He has not had huge sums to spend, or players on huge wages, and he has been able to stamp his authority on the team in terms of a clearly-defined style of play, as well as impressive communication skills. Those points all ensured he was eventually deemed ‘the one’, albeit in an imperfect field.”

Slot has guided Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title and the KNVB Cup since his arrival in 2021. The 45-year-old’s side also finished as runners-up in the 2021/22 Europa Conference League.