Arne Slot sack fate sealed as top journalist reveals FSG plans to appoint big-name Liverpool successor | OneFootball

Liverpool bosses have now decided they will sack Arne Slot, with a reliable journalist revealing exactly when the axe is likely to fall and amid claims his replacement at Anfield has already been handpicked by FSG.

The Merseysiders have stuttered and stumbled their way through their title defence; an unimaginable scenario given the huge £440m (€505m, $600m) Liverpool spent on new players over the summer. And while the Reds remain in contention for a top-four finish and still have a chance of winning silverware in both the FA Cup and the Champions League, it has been far from a comfortable campaign for the Dutchman.

Indeed, a bleak autumn saw the Reds lose nine times in 12 games; an unacceptable run that saw even the Liverpool Echo declare Slot was just one week away from the sack following their crushing 4-1 home defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

Since then, though, Liverpool have gone 12 games unbeaten, although they have looked far from convincing and dropped points against the likes of Leeds United (twice), Sunderland, Burnley and Fulham illustrate a team far from last season’s swaggering best.

Now, according to trusted Liverpool journalist David Lynch, owners FSG feel a change is needed at Anfield, though their American owners are loath to make a change at the midway point of the season.

Instead, Lynch is adamant the axe will fall at the season’s end – a decision strengthened by No.1 target Xabi Alonso‘s decision to postpone his return to management until the summer, and ensuring all their fates align.

“They clearly, clearly want to get to the end of the season with Slot if they can,” Lynch told Anfield Index. “They don’t want to make a mid-season managerial change because who do you get as the interim? It would clearly be better to make the managerial change in the summer.

“I think his future’s already set to be honest. It’s been so pronounced the decline for such a long time. It is only a case of getting to the summer albeit if he starts to lose six, seven on the bounce again, he will get bulleted because they’ll feel forced to go for an interim. But they don’t want to change, they really would prefer not to.”

On the links to Alonso and of the need to wait on the Spaniard, Lynch added: “Then it’s kind of go for a manager then in the summer. People are talking about go and get Xabi Alonso, but he’s not going to want to walk into a job now, so it’d have to be an interim and I don’t think there’s a great deal out there.”

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Liverpool have four options to replace Slot – Sources

Writing earlier this month and before Alonso was axed by Real Madrid, our correspondent Fraser Fletcher reported that FSG have drawn up ‘contingency plans’ in place should they decide to sack Slot, with sources revealing FOUR exciting names on their radar.

However, while reliable sources state his job is “not in any jeopardy at the moment,” with no plans for a mid-season change, contract talks for an extension – once seen as inevitable after last season’s triumph – have been shelved amid the current form dip.

Slot himself has acknowledged the difficulties, citing injuries, set-piece vulnerabilities, and the challenges of transitioning from Jurgen Klopp’s high-intensity era.

“We are in the position we deserve after the first half of the season,” he admitted earlier this winter, while expressing confidence that improvements are on the horizon.

But while the manager looks safe for now, big changes are understood to be in the works for the summer; claims since backed up by Lynch.

Things became heated on Saturday after Liverpool’s failure to see off Burnley, with a Marcus Edwards goal pegging the Reds back at Anfield.

In the aftermath of that unacceptable draw, FSG have decided NOT to sack Slot.

That’s according to The Athletic’s James Pearce, who insists Liverpool’s owners will not follow in the footsteps of Chelsea and Manchester United – and soon-to-be Tottenham – by removing their under-pressure managers.

Pearce wrote: “Slot retains the backing of FSG, who have no plans to follow the lead of rivals Manchester United and Chelsea by making a managerial change mid-campaign.”

But while Slot is safe for now, the presence of Xabi Alonso on the job market has changed the situation to a degree.

Pearce continued: “If he’s going to stop haemorrhaging support among the fanbase he needs to find momentum, and fast. There appeared to be no obvious replacement for those demanding change. That’s no longer the case following Xabi Alonso’s exit from Real Madrid.

“Alonso, who has a close bond with Liverpool dating back to his playing days on Merseyside between 2004 and 2009, would have been a strong candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp in 2024 if he hadn’t vowed to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for another year.

“Slot then emerged as an emphatic first choice for FSG CEO of football Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes in their data-led search.

“It’s unclear when or where Alonso will look to embark on a new challenge, but with every setback Liverpool endure, the noise will crank up. Slot can only silence it by finding solutions to the problems facing him.

“Champions League qualification is the minimum requirement, and that’s far from certain with United one point behind and Chelsea two points adrift.”

Liverpool latest: £78m winger dream dashed; five new signings eyed

Meanwhile, a £78m-rated winger’s dream of signing for Liverpool has been dashed if the comments of a senior and high-ranking official are anything to go by, and with Fabrizio Romano also proven wrong.

The Reds also want new additions in defence and with Tottenham star Micky van de Ven strongly linked in recent days.

Now sources can reveal Spus are facing the devastating exit of their star man unless a huge statement is made by the club over the coming months, amid claims Liverpool are gearing up for a record-breaking summer swoop.

We can also reveal Liverpool are planning for as many as five ‘significant’ new signings at season’s end, with sources also revealing exactly which positions will be addressed.

One man who could leave, however, is Ibrahima Konate with Liverpool still some way apart in their talks over a new contract.

Off the back of that, sources have revealed to TEAMtalk the huge dilemma now facing Richard Hughes and with a potential free-transfer exit from Anfield edging ever closer.