Liverpool must still make Arne Slot decision despite missing out on Xabi Alonso – Opinion | OneFootball

Removing Slot Matters More Than Missing Alonso

Liverpool’s failure to move for Xabi Alonso this summer will disappoint many supporters, particularly those emotionally attached to the former midfielder and the memories attached to his legendary time at Anfield. However, despite the understandable frustration, I do not actually believe missing out on Alonso is the biggest issue facing Liverpool this summer.

Removing Arne Slot has been and is ongoing for many months.

That is the crucial decision now awaiting Michael Edwards, Richard Hughes, and FSG after the final game of the season against Brentford. Whoever the replacement is, whether it be somebody more experienced, or an entirely unexpected appointment matters less than ensuring the club decisively moves on from a project that has visibly collapsed over the past twelve months.

Because another season like this one simply cannot be allowed to happen, the fanbase and squad have been lost on them, in charge of the team.

Alonso appears set to take the Chelsea job on a four-year contract and, in truth, there is logic to that decision from his own perspective. Chelsea remains a globally recognised football institution despite the chaos surrounding them. They are still viewed across Europe as a giant club with enormous resources and significant potential if properly stabilised.

More importantly for Alonso, it offers Premier League integration.

If he succeeds in London, adapts to English football, and establishes himself tactically over the coming years, then perhaps the Liverpool opportunity returns naturally somewhere down the line. Three to five years from now, after another managerial cycle at Anfield has concluded, Alonso may well arrive with greater experience and stronger foundations to handle the expectations that come with managing Liverpool Football Club.

Because sentiment alone should never dictate appointments and this project needs to be earned and not rewarded.

If Alonso did not carry emotional ties to Liverpool, he would simply be one excellent candidate amongst several elite coaches worth considering. Brilliant tactician? Absolutely. Intelligent football mind? Without question. But football clubs cannot make decisions purely based on romance and nostalgia and the last project at Real Madrid must raise questions as to his ability to marshal a team of elite personnel.

Liverpool needs cold, clear decision-making this summer.

And that begins with acknowledging that the current situation under Slot is no longer sustainable, not even close.

Liverpool Must Protect the Next Era

Chelsea may be attracting Alonso, but they are hardly entering a position of strength.

Despite their global profile, the London club remains engulfed by financial uncertainty and structural instability after years of reckless spending under the current ownership. The lack of European football next season only intensifies that pressure further, with more pressure applied to the finance department. Alonso is taking on a rebuild filled with enormous risk, even if the prestige of the role remains attractive.

Liverpool’s situation is entirely different.

FSG have built a reputation for responsible ownership, smart recruitment, and long-term planning. That stability is precisely why the upcoming decision surrounding Arne Slot matters so much. Liverpool can survive one disappointing season. Elite clubs occasionally suffer downturns and transitional periods.

What they cannot survive is hesitation.

Allowing another campaign of tactical confusion, poor conditioning, passive football, and structural decline would risk damaging a squad that still contains enormous quality. Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Rio Ngumoha, and Ibrahima Konaté are not players that should be drifting through seasons fighting merely to secure Champions League qualification.

This squad should be competing properly.

Instead, Liverpool have looked disorganised, physically vulnerable, and emotionally drained for months. The recent collapses against Aston Villa, Manchester City, and PSG only reinforced the growing sense that Slot has lost control of the tactical and psychological direction of the side.

That is why the final game against Brentford feels less like an ending and more like the final stage before inevitable change.

Liverpool’s hierarchy now needs conviction. Not panic. Not emotional reactions to online noise. Conviction. Missing out on Alonso may sting supporters emotionally, but it does not define Liverpool’s summer.

Removing a failing manager and protecting the next era absolutely does.