The unease on the red half of Merseyside is rising with Jurgen Klopp's successor at Liverpool still not identified and ostensible top targets Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim both seemingly out of the running.
The latter, Amorim, has not been wiped off the shortlist as such but after spending weeks as the clear frontrunner, the Sporting manager is understood to have been distanced away from contention by FSG's CEO of Football Michael Edwards and Anfield Sporting Director Richard Hughes.
There are a host of reasons this could be the case and the judicious bosses at Liverpool will be going through candidates with a fine comb in securing an apt heir.
One such alternative to Amorim has now risen to the top of the list, and he might just be a shrewd appointment.
Liverpool eyeing Amorim alternative
According to the Express, Liverpool could turn to Feyenoord manager Arne Slot after cooling interest in Amorim, with Edwards and Co determined to choose brave over popular in the hunt for a new leader.
Slot emphatically led his side to the Dutch Eredivisie title last season and may well prove to be a more suitable appointment than Amorim, when considering his stylistic approach and the seamless shift it may prove to be from Klopp's brand of football.
The report was added to by journalist Fabrizio Romano Jacobs who suggested he was keen on being given the hot seat at Anfield.
Why Liverpool are interested in Arne Slot
Slot might be a name of relative obscurity on English shores but to discredit him for this fact would be nonsensical: the 45-year-old has created a utopia at Feyenoord, beating financially-superior rivals Ajax and PSV Eindhoven to the title last season and crafting an excellent squad from limited resources.
Moreover, while PSV are heading toward the Eredivisie trophy this season, second-placed Feyenoord just cemented themselves as 2023/24 KNVB champions (basically the Dutch FA Cup), winning against NEC Nijmegen in the final last weekend.
23/24
Feyenoord
29
2nd
69
2.38
22/23
Feyenoord
34
1st
82
2.41
21/22
Feyenoord
34
3rd
71
2.09
Slot remarked that the Premier League "is the best league in the world" when pursued by then-managerless Tottenham Hotspur last summer and given his attacking style of high-energy play, he might indeed be perfect to succeed Klopp.
Moreover, he implements a 4-3-3 approach, much like Klopp, which could work far better than that of Amorim, whose three-man defence and short-pass movements would negate the ball-playing qualities of stars such as Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Transfermarkt's Kevin Lux has also remarked that Slot is a manager who can "transform underdogs into contenders" – ring any bells?
The self-proclaimed "control freak", who seeks possession-based dominance and slick offensive football, would of course demand a tweak in the system for the Anfield side but he has demonstrated his aptitude in similar circumstances and he might just be the shrewd appointment needed.
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Said to be "similar to Pep [Guardiola]" with an ultra-attacking style that resembles that of a "maniac" by Dutch football expert Marcel van der Kraan, it wouldn't be the first time Liverpool have thought outside the box, delved down the less-walked path, and the recent track record in that regard isn't too shabby.