Reports from Spain have sensationally claimed that Liverpool could dismiss Arne Slot from his job as head coach within the next week.
The Dutchman has been enduring a difficult second season in charge at Anfield, with any hope of retaining the Premier League title long since extinguished despite an unprecedented outlay of almost £450m on new signings last summer.
As John Aldridge reluctantly acknowledged, securing a top-four finish and qualification for next season’s Champions League is realistically the Reds’ aim domestically for the second half of the campaign – certainly not what was envisaged at the outset in August.
Spanish reports make dramatic Slot sack claims
In a week which has seen Chelsea, Manchester United and Celtic all jettison Enzo Maresca, Ruben Amorim and Wilfried Nancy respectively, Spanish outlet Fichajes claimed that Liverpool could be equally ruthless with Slot in the next few days.
In a report headlined ‘Bombshell: Liverpool to dismiss Arne Slot’, it’s alleged that the 47-year-old ‘has been walking on a tightrope for months’ and that the club’s ‘patience has run out’, adding that the Dutchman ‘will not continue at the helm beyond this week’.
Anfield chiefs are purportedly ‘preparing for his departure’ and ‘already analysing profiles capable of rebuilding the project in the short-term’, with the hiearchy ‘fed up with mistakes’ and seeking ‘a drastic change’ to revive a thoroughly disappointing season.
Slot unlikely to be sacked that quickly, but nor is he completely bulletproof
This isn’t the first time in recent weeks that speculation over Slot’s future has been rife – Ian Doyle claimed after the 4-1 home drubbing by PSV Eindhoven in November (Liverpool’s ninth defeat in 12 games) that the head coach had ‘one week to keep his job’.
Despite the Reds going nine matches unbeaten since then, frustrating draws against Leeds and Fulham over the past few days have again seen the spotlight thrust on the 47-year-old. Aldridge wrote in his latest Liverpool Echo column that the Dutchman isn’t immune from the sack, even at a club with a typically much more patient hierarchy than Chelsea and Man United.
The trigger-happy nature of modern-day football would make it impossible to completely dismiss the notion that FSG could hand the incumbent boss his marching orders if results on the pitch continue to deteriorate, but it’d come as quite the shock if it were to happen as soon as Fichajes have alleged.
Until such time that these reports from Spain are corroborated by trusted sources closer to home, we’d take them with more than a pinch of salt. It’d be quite the break from tradition if Liverpool were to act as hastily as sacking Slot in the next week.
The 47-year-old has made some missteps this season, for sure – several of his tactical and team selection choices have been baffling, and strong performances have been few and far between – but what superior and realistically attainable alternatives are out there if he were to be dismissed this month?
The Dutchman is highly unlikely to be given his P45 in the next few days, but he could definitely do with a prolonged upturn in results and performances to quell the speculation over his future.