Major update on Arne Slot sack revealed as Liverpool backed to sign brilliant 69-goal Salah heir | OneFootball

Arne Slot’s position as Liverpool manager remains under serious threat, with the five factors that will determine his future revealed, while the Reds have been urged to bring in one of Europe’s best wingers to replace Mo Salah.

Liverpool’s season has been a disappointing one despite last summer’s spending of close to £450million, with their Premier League title defence in tatters and Champions League qualification not guaranteed.

Slot has been under pressure for some time, and their 5-2 victory over West Ham today hasn’t necessarily eased it. TEAMtalk correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, has made it clear that FSG do have a contingency plan in place should they decide to pull the trigger.

Crunch time for Slot as Liverpool sack costs assessed

Respected journalist Dean Jones has named the five factors that will be used to gauge Slot’s future, with his dismissal from Liverpool a real and concrete possibility.

With qualification for the Champions League, whether through a top-five finish or winning the tournament itself, among them, Jones told Flashscore: “Slot understands that sporting director Richard Hughes is leading a comprehensive analysis of the overall situation, weighing up team development, progression and performance data, alongside the results.”

The suggestion is that Slot must pass all those metrics if he is to remain in the job.

With questions continuing to swirl over Slot’s future, the costs needed to sack the manager were revealed by finance expert Adam Williams earlier this season.

“Slot signed a three-year deal, so he’s contracted to the club until the end of 2026-27.”

He added: “The conventional wisdom is that, in order to sack a manager, you have to pay out the remainder of their contract. On that basis, you’d be looking at £15m or thereabouts to give Slot the boot.

“However, the reality is usually a lot more nuanced than that. There will likely be provisions in his contract that protect the club if, for example, if they are drastically underperforming on the pitch.

“There might also be a pre-agreed termination clause. These factors can work in the manager’s favour or the club’s – there’s no way of knowing for sure without having the contract in front of us.

‘Go-to’ Mo Salah replacement named

Meanwhile, speculation continues to surround the future of Liverpool icon Salah, who, despite being under contract until 2027, is once again being heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the summer.

Our transfer correspondent, Graeme Bailey, reported earlier this month that Salah was ‘deep in discussions’ with a move to the Gulf State, where he is likely to be handed a prominent ambassadorial role as well as the chance to own a stake in one of their illustrious Pro-League clubs, similar to Cristiano Ronaldo’s prominence over there.

Liverpool are already doing their due diligence on players who could be brought in to try and fill the void, though that’ll of course be an incredibly difficult task.

RB Leipzig sensation Yan Diomande is one player they have their eye on, sources confirm but ex-Liverpool striker Emile Heskey believes they should go down a different route.

Heskey believes that Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the player Liverpool should go for.

“We’re talking about replacing Mohamed Salah and I think as fans you’ve got to look at something different because you can’t replace Mo Salah,” Heskey told The Mirror.

“I remember one season I was speaking to someone who said Mo’s had a bad season. He’d scored 25 goals! I’d love to have had that bad of a season. We’re talking about someone scoring 20 plus, nearly 30 goals a season for 10 years.

“I don’t think you can replace Mo Salah, but I do like the lad from PSG, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. He would be my go-to.”

Kvaratskhelia has notched 69 goals and 67 assists in 288 games during his career and at the age of 25, still has the potential to be an excellent long-term addition for Liverpool.

Liverpool eyeing ‘affordable’ Serie A full-back signing

In other news, Liverpool are eyeing potential right-back signings for the summer, after Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley have both been hit with injuries this term.

The Reds reportedly want more depth in the position and have set their sights on Inter Milan star Denzel Dumfries.

It’s claimed that the Dutch international could be an ‘affordable’ addition due to a clause in his contract that would