Liverpool links to ‘No 1 target’ to replace Arne Slot torched as angry big-wig slams ‘100% fake news’ | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain have firmly denied speculation that Luis Enrique is poised to leave the French club this summer, shutting down reports that Liverpool were dreaming of his appointment, and amid fresh claims Arne Slot is on the cusp of the sack.

The Premier League champions have undergone a turbulent campaign so far, with Slot struggling to get the best out of his expensively assembled squad following a mammoth £440m (€505m, $600m) injection of new players. And while Liverpool appear to have turned the corner after a bleak autumn that saw them lose nine of 12 games, the Dutchman still appears to be on shaky ground at Anfield.

Indeed, damaging and eye-catching reports in the last 24 hours have claimed Slot could be sacked before the end of ‘this week’ with FSG fed up of his inability to get a consistent tune out of his squad and frustrated by their failures to sufficiently defend the title they won with such swagger last season.

Furthermore, a second report claims tensions between Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes are now really high and, amid ‘civil war’ claims, an Anfield icon now fears the sack is coming for the Dutchman.

Back in November, when Slot was coming under intense pressure over his job and with local and trusted paper the Liverpool Echo claiming the 47-year-old was a ‘week away from the sack’, both The Mirror and The Sun simultaneously ran articles claiming Enrique was FSG’s ‘dream target’ and No 1 option to step into the Anfield hotseat.

Now, with Slot’s position coming under fresh speculation, reports originating from German outlet Bild, have suggested Enrique has turned down a new deal at the Parc des Princes and was considering leaving the club at the end of the season.

And with some putting two and two together and suggesting a move to Anfield could now be on the cards for the 55-year-old Spaniard, a fuming PSG sporting director, Luis Campos has dismissed the speculation that Enrique could be leaving out of hand.

“100% fake news,” Campos stated when directly addressing suggestions that Enrique has refused to extend with PSG.

What is the latest on Slot’s Liverpool future?

Despite that, PSG may need to get a conclusive answer from Enrique over his future at the season’s end.

His contract at the Parc des Princes is due to expire in summer 2027, and his failure to extend will leave them exposed to speculation that a departure for their Champions League-winning coach could be on the cards.

Enrique himself is yet to comment on reports over his future, though he would clearly be a man in demand after leading the French giants to 99 wins in his 144 matches at the helm – a win percentage rate of 68.75%.

Whether a move to Anfield would be next on the agenda remains open to some speculation, however.

And while Liverpool do not sack managers lightly, growing talk that Slot is on borrowed time will only ramp up claims that a change is on the horizon at Anfield.

While our sources have yet to establish anything concrete on the matter, a notorious X account, comprising five elite reporters, has also claimed that Slot has been told that negotiations over a new deal at Anfield are on hold and that the Dutchman has been told a major improvement is required to ensure he remains manager into next season and beyond.

Former Reds striker John Aldridge also feels a change could be coming at Anfield.

In his column for the Liverpool Echo, he wrote: ‘The owners have kept faith with Arne despite our difficult season. But if we hadn’t won the league last year, it might have been different for him. He might have lost his job too.

‘There were a lot of changes in the summer. On social media, it’s all about the predictability, the lack of pace, we’re too easy to play against. It’s not an attractive style of football to watch and every game is a grind.

‘We’re waiting for something to change and so far it’s not happened. Hopefully, something will click, but it doesn’t look like anything will change drastically either.

‘We’re not a club who sack managers easily. We don’t do that, we’re not United. But Arne is not daft. If he doesn’t deliver, that’s the way the game is. He knows it, we all know it.’

Slot himself has also recently played down claims his Liverpool side ‘lacks identity’, launching a rigorous defence of his managerial style following Sunday’s topsy-turvy but ultimately frustrating 2-2 draw at Fulham.

Enrique isn’t the only prominent PSG figure linked with a move to Anfield in 2026 after Liverpool have received a lift in their bid to sign Bradley Barcola, according to a French journalist, with the Reds having moved on from Manchester City-bound Antoine Semenyo.

Elsewhere, Liverpool journalist James Pearce has dismissed Fabrizio Romano’s claim that Juventus have made contact to sign Federico Chiesa in the January transfer window, as we look at what is being said about the winger in the Italian media.

However, Mohamed Salah’s future has again been called into question after a former Premier League manager exclusively told us that