Arne Slot's move to Liverpool has been completed, and the Dutch manager is set to take over at Anfield from Jurgen Klopp ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The move was made official on May 20, just a day after Klopp oversaw his final match in charge of Liverpool — a 2-0 victory over Wolves at Anfield. The Reds confirmed they had reached an agreement with Feyenoord for the 45-year-old and that he would be their new manager from July 1, 2024, subject to formalities of the deal being completed.
Slot arrives with an impressive pedigree. His former club Feyenoord came second in the Eredivisie after winning the title last year, and won the KNVB Cup final in April.
He will hope to hit the ground running as he prepares to take over a team whose Premier League title challenge fell apart in the last few weeks of the season.
The Sporting News takes a look at Slot's coaching track record, and how he may fit in at Liverpool.
MORE: Why is Jurgen Klopp leaving Liverpool? Reasons behind Reds boss' exit
Is Arne Slot a good coach?
Liverpool's recruitment team took notice of Slot due to his proven ability to develop young talent, achieve success within budget constraints, his European experience and a playing style that aligns closely with Klopp's.
Slot's time in charge of Feyenoord has been renowned for his high-intensity approach on the field, and it has also yielded success in terms of silverware.
Slot took control of the Dutch side in July 2021 and established a style that saw Feyenoord consistently dominate possession in the final third. According to Opta, by the end of April, they led that stat across Europe's top seven leagues in 2023/24, ahead of — yes, you guessed it — Liverpool.
That statistic extends also to the number of points gained from losing positions, with both Feyenoord and Liverpool notching an impressive 62 points within the same timeframe.
Liverpool fans who have been impressed by Klopp's performance since 2021 may want to note that Slot has also made significant strides in his coaching journey during the same period.
Arne Slot: Career trophies won and coaching record
Slot won his latest trophy by lifting the KNVB Cup with Feyenoord in April, in addition to the Eredivisie title triumph he masterminded in 2022/23.
Those two pieces of silverware are his only managerial team accolades so far, but he will certainly be hoping to bolster that trophy collection at Liverpool.
On an individual level, Slot has won the Dutch Manager of the Year award twice and also reached the final of the UEFA Conference League in 2021/22, where he was ultimately beaten by Jose Mourinho's Roma.
Slot was not able to follow up with an Eredivisie title again in 2023/24 as PSV strolled to the championship, but he has steered Feyenoord safely to a Champions League qualification spot via second place.
Prior to taking over Feyenoord, Slot reportedly averaged 2.11 points per game while in charge of AZ Alkmaar — the highest return of any coach in AZ history.
He might even have secured an incredible Eredivisie success in 2019/20 had that season not been voided due to the Coronavirus pandemic. AZ were behind Erik ten Hag's Ajax at the top of the table on goal difference when the pandemic struck.
Arne Slot coaching stats
| Season | Club | Total Matches | W | L | D | Win% |
| 2023/2024 | Feyenoord | 150 | 98 | 23 | 29 | 65% |
| 2022/2023 | Feyenoord | 48 | 32 | 6 | 10 | 66% |
| 2021/2022 | Feyenoord | 53 | 33 | 10 | 10 | 62% |
| 2020/2021 | AZ Alkmaar | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 44% |
| 2019/2020* | AZ Alkmaar | 42 | 25 | 8 | 9 | 60% |
* Season cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic
Note: Slot was also made joint-interim manager of Cambuur for a period in 2016 following the departure of Henk de Jong
MORE: Jurgen Klopp trophies and records during time in charge of Liverpool
Arne Slot tactics
Slot is an advocate of high-intensity attacking football. His team play with a high defensive line and look to get the ball forward quickly.
That obviously chimes with the most romantic remembrances of Klopp's "heavy metal football" at Dortmund and Liverpool, with the caveat that the Reds' boss tempered that approach when the necessity of gargantuan points totals to compete with City became apparent.
Slot uses 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 setups predominantly. In the latter, it is not uncommon to see his two deeper midfielders operating close to the central defenders during the build-up to bounce passes around the opposition press.
This is an approach used in the Premier League by the likes of Roberto De Zerbi, another coach who was reportedly on Liverpool's radar. It also frees up full-backs to support the attack and might be music to the ears of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and breakout star Conor Bradley.
Out of possession, the Klopp staple of a high press is fundamental for Slot. Plenty about his previous work and the characteristics of the Liverpool squad mark him out as a good fit. It will then be on Slot to prove he is not simply "Klopp-lite" or any other potentially unflattering labels.
Slot's work at Feyenoord, a big club with a rich history but not the most financially powerful in Dutch football, has parallels with Klopp's stays at Borussia Dortmund against the all-conquering Bayern Munich and at Liverpool in opposition to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.