Arne Slot to turn Liverpool ‘toxic’ as top journalist makes new Xabi Alonso claim | OneFootball

Anfield will ‘quickly turn toxic’ next season if Arne Slot remains in charge of Liverpool, and it will be a big mistake if the Reds do not hire Xabi Alonso as the Dutchman’s replacement this summer, James Pearce has warned.

Liverpool backed Slot with over £440million of spending last summer following their title triumph during his first season in charge, but the team has taken a big backwards step this campaign. The 1-1 home draw with Chelsea on Saturday left Liverpool in fourth on 59 points, ahead of fifth-placed Aston Villa only on goal difference.

While Liverpool are still in a good position to qualify for next season’s Champions League, Bournemouth are hunting both Slot’s side and Villa down.

Liverpool were expected to beat Chelsea over the weekend, as the Blues had lost their previous six league games while scoring only once.

Ryan Gravenberch smashed Liverpool into the lead early on, but they let Chelsea grow into the game and ultimately pick up a point thanks to an Enzo Fernandez free-kick that inexplicably found its way in at the far post.

Arguably the most damning moment for Slot was when he replaced Rio Ngumoha – Liverpool’s brightest attacker – with Alexander Isak in the second half, which sparked huge boos from the Anfield crowd.

Reacting to the game for The Athletic, Pearce noted that sporting director Richard Hughes will have heard the anger from fans.

‘[There is] a massive disconnect between what supporters expect to see from a Liverpool side and the brand of football the former Feyenoord boss is repeatedly serving up,’ he wrote.

‘Chelsea arrived at Anfield in crisis, having suffered six successive league defeats. When Gravenberch struck inside six minutes, Liverpool had the perfect platform to kick on, go for the jugular and exploit the Londoners’ frailties.

‘Inexplicably, they took their foot off the gas. As sporting director Richard Hughes watched on from the directors’ box, the hosts retreated and allowed Chelsea time and space to operate.’

Pearce went on to discuss how things could get worse for Slot next season, and whether Liverpool should accelerate a move for their former midfielder Alonso.

‘The problem is that so much goodwill has been lost over the past nine months that if Slot stays put and then Liverpool’s form at the start of next season is patchy, things will turn toxic at Anfield very quickly,’ he continued.

‘And if the decision-makers at FSG find themselves having to make a change mid-season, as they did in 2015, the calibre of candidates available is highly unlikely to be comparable to those out of work this summer.

Pearce in damning Slot verdict

‘Xabi Alonso, who would be a popular choice among supporters, will surely be in a new job. There certainly won’t be a saviour in the mould of Jurgen Klopp waiting to pick up the pieces, as he did 11 years ago.’

Pearce added: ‘The end of the season can’t come soon enough. There’s so much wrong and it requires a sizeable leap of faith to believe Slot can fix it.’

Reports in the Spanish press earlier on Monday claimed that Liverpool have made a ‘call’ to clear up any lingering ‘doubts’ over a swoop for Alonso.

However, Fabrizio Romano insists Liverpool are currently backing Slot rather than pushing to land Alonso.

“At the moment, the feeling at Liverpool, I can confirm that it is absolutely in the direction that they want to continue with Slot,” Romano said.

“Why? Because so far, and it’s May now, it’s no longer February, March, or April. In May, Liverpool have not made contact with any other manager.

“There were many rumours on Liverpool making contact with Alonso coming from Germany, but I can guarantee that Liverpool this year never made any direct approach with Alonso or with his agents.”