Jamie Redknapp has shed light on why Richard Hughes chose Arne Slot as Jurgen Klopp’s successor, revealing a private conversation he had with Liverpool’s sporting director. The Reds secured the Premier League title after delivering a crushing 5-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, with Slot winning his first piece of silverware in charge at the club.
It’s been an extraordinary season for the Reds, who now hold a 15-point lead over second-placed Arsenal with just four matches remaining. The celebrations are ongoing on Merseyside after wrapping up a 20th league title, taking them level with rival Manchester United and confirming its status as the most successful English club.
The achievement is even more remarkable considering Slot led Liverpool to the title in his debut season, taking over from the long-standing Klopp last summer after nine years filled with trophies.
Slot was relatively unknown in England when he was announced as Klopp’s successor last May, but he has now joined the exclusive club of managers who have won the Premier League in their first season in England’s restructured top division.
While there may have been initial surprise at Slot’s appointment, former Liverpool captain Redknapp has disclosed why sporting director Hughes decided to bring in the Dutchman last summer.
“When you say they have no major signings, the major signing was the manager,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports during the celebrations at Anfield on Sunday.
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“I spoke to Richard Hughes about this and I said, ‘why Arne Slot?’
“He said, ‘because everything pointed towards a man that could handle that big club mentality, you have to not just manage the team but you have to manage expectations. You have to be calm about managing this club’.
“I think the way that he has done that has been absolutely phenomenal. He’s a super cool guy.
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“When [Jose] Mourinho came in, he was the special one. This guy is the cool one. He doesn’t get flustered.”
Liverpool.com says: Slot has demonstrated exactly why he was the perfect appointment last summer, even if people weren’t too familiar with him outside of the Netherlands. There’s no doubt he is a different character to Klopp, but in some ways that was exactly what Liverpool needed – let’s face it, there’ll never be another Klopp.
Slot has handled everything with an assuredness that has got the best out of his players. The next test for him is whether he can integrate some new faces into the side this summer and still produce the same – if not even better – results.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.
