Ex-Liverpool star Steve McManaman expects 'seamless transition' for Arne Slot at Anfield taking over from Jurgen Klopp
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Published 23/05/2024 at 17:14 GMT
Steve McManaman is confident that Arne Slot won't have too many problems replacing Jurgen Klopp when he takes charge of Liverpool next season. Klopp said his final goodbye to the Merseyside club last week after a trophy-laden eight-year spell where he guided Liverpool to the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. McManaman believes that the club are in a "healthy" position for the future.
Liverpool confirm appointment of Slot as Klopp's replacement
Steve McManaman has told TNT Sports that he expects a "seamless transition" for Arne Slot at Liverpool next season.
Liverpool recently confirmed that Slot will be the man in charge to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield and he has reportedly put pen to paper on a three-year contract.
Klopp leaves Liverpool as a club icon after leading them to their first Premier League title in 2020 and their sixth European Cup triumph in 2019 along with winning the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.
Although many will assume that Slot has an uphill task of replacing Klopp in the Anfield dugout, McManaman is confident that Slot won't have too many issues during his debut campaign.
"[Success] would be anything like this year to be honest," he told TNT Sports. "They should be fighting at the top of the table and battling for all kinds of trophies. I love Jurgen and I think he’s an incredible manager but I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure on Arne Slot.
"The players are still brilliant, nobody’s leaving apart from [Joel] Matip and Thiago. Michael Edwards is back, Julian Ward is back, Richard Hughes is back and they’re going to sit above Arne Slot. They’ve already been at work identifying players.
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"Liverpool are already in a very healthy position: qualifying for the Champions League, the new stand in the stadium so I think the transition should be relatively seamless."
Comparisons have been drawn with Manchester United's struggles following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 - they have failed to win the Premier League title since he left Old Trafford.
However, McManaman believes that the club has laid down the foundations for Slot to have an easier spell than the number of Ferguson's successors.
"I think everything is put in place before Arne Slot came in," he added. "When Sir Alex left, it was a different scenario with the team but I don’t think Liverpool have any real problems with the team apart from the contract situations of [Mohamed] Salah, Virgil [van Dijk] and Trent [Alexander-Arnold].
"The managerial staff know what they have to do and new players will come in, strengthen the side, the youngsters have been excellent. Some of the lads who have been on loan like Tyler Morton and Fabio Carvalho, they’ll come back into the fold and we’ll see how much they’ve improved.
"I think Liverpool are in a very healthy situation, it’s just the matter of getting the manager in, getting the preseason away and having a look at the players that he wants. That team that finished the game against Wolves the other day, they’re certainly good enough to go again next year."
'I see him staying and working hard on his game'
McManaman is also confident that Mohamed Salah can get back to his best under Slot after a disappointing end to the campaign.
Salah finished the season with 25 goals and 13 assists in all competitions but experienced an up and down season after suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty with Egypt at Africa Cup of Nations.
The forward recently hinted that he will remain at Anfield next season amid rumours that he is attracting interest from Saudi Arabian clubs.
"Until his injury, he came back quickly against Brentford away and had a cameo appearance and got injured again and I don’t think he’s been the same since," McManaman explained. "I thought he played okay the other day at the end of it, it’s the end of the season.
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"I think he’ll stay and he’ll be fine next year because this season I don’t think he was bad at all, it was just the last couple of months since his injury and the African Cup of Nations have probably had a bit of a toll on him."
McManaman also expects improvement from Darwin Nunez next season after he endured another underwhelming campaign in front of goal.
The Uruguay international scored 18 goals in all competitions but missed a number of key chances in the business end of the season where Liverpool's title hopes diminished last month.
He had to settle for cameos off the bench for the final four matches of the league season, but McManaman is hopeful that the forward can rediscover his goalscoring touch under Slot.
"I see him staying and working hard on his game and getting better," he said. "He still can’t speak English and he needs to learn English very quickly and brush up on it.
"He’s still only a young boy and a shy boy and I think people have to take that into consideration. Yes of course, he has to brush up on his finishing, he has to work hard, get on the training ground and score scruffy goals.
"Whether he has to speak to [Luis] Suarez, whether he has to speak to somebody else, but he has to improve in front of goal."
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