Liverpool and Feyenoord have now agreed a fee for manager Arne Slot, who will make the switch to Anfield this summer as replacement for Jurgen Klopp.

Though Liverpool saw an initial offer of compensation for Slot turned down earlier this week, both clubs remained intent on reaching an agreement.

With the 45-year-old resolved to join as Klopp’s successor, talks continued and a package has now been agreed ahead of the summer.

• READ: Arne Slot: The Dutch football view on new Liverpool manager

This is according to sources in both England and the Netherlands, with the latter explaining that it is a verbal agreement as it stands.

VI‘s Martijn Krabbendam explains that “the deal is currently being fully put down on paper” and “the final agreement will follow tomorrow.”

Liverpool’s first, rejected offer stood at around €9 million (£7.7m), but reliable Feyenoord source 1908.nl reports that the deal is worth closer to €15 million (£12.8m).

It ensures Slot is the most expensive manager in Dutch history, which highlights Liverpool’s determination to land the right candidate in the wake of Klopp’s resignation.

There are not expected to be any hiccups when it comes to personal terms with the coach himself, with it almost certain that these have been at least provisionally agreed beforehand.

Slot still has three games left in charge of Feyenoord, starting on Sunday night at home to former club PEC Zwolle, but his work at Liverpool would begin soon after.

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The Dutchman will serve as the on-field figurehead of a new regime at Anfield, with a number of staff likely to follow him from Rotterdam, too.

Fenway Sports Group have already presided over a restructure of Liverpool’s boardroom, with Michael Edwards now their CEO of football while Richard Hughes is in as sporting director and David Woodfine his assistant.

Slot is due to operate as a head coach, rather than a traditional manager, fitting into the existing structure as opposed to fronting it.

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Friday brought the buildup to another away clash for Liverpool in the Premier League, but also a major development in their pursuit of the next manager.

The latest on Slot

Liverpool are close to agreeing terms with Feyenoord over the release of manager Arne Slot, who will take over at the end of the season.

That is according to Sky Sports‘ Melissa Reddy, with the compensation expected to be £9.85 million, which is an increase on their initial offer of £7.7 million.

? BREAKING: Liverpool and Feyenoord are heading towards finalising an agreement for Arne Slot to become Jurgen Klopp’s successor ? pic.twitter.com/YFdTE24Vkt

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 26, 2024

Slot could be announced as new Liverpool manager as early as this weekend, the Mail claim, with the likelihood being that Feyenoord confirm their agreement first.

The 45-year-old is also due to bring assistant manager Sipke Hulshoff and head of performance Ruben Peeters with him to Merseyside, which would require more talks.

Feyenoord beat Go Ahead Eagles 3-1 in the Eredivisie on Thursday night to seal their place in next season’s Champions League, with ex-Liverpool winger Bobby Adekanye assisting for the opposition.

3 things today: Gakpo’s return, Klopp on Slot and new contract

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• Kieran Morrison, a 17-year-old winger who has already trained with Liverpool’s first team, has now signed his first professional contract

Latest Liverpool FC news

• David Moyes has revealed that Jarrod Bowen has a “good chance” of featuring vs. Liverpool – of course he does (WHUFC)

• Liverpool coach Jay Spearing has welcomed the appointment of Slot, saying “he can handle a big club” (Stadium Astro)

Around the Premier League

• Premier League chief Richard Masters claims Man City‘s 115 charges will be resolved in the “near future” – but will it actually matter? (PA)

• Erik ten Hag banned three journalists from asking questions in his press conference on Friday – he’s still upset about the reaction to almost bottling it vs. Coventry (BBC Sport)

• Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes has a £100 million release clause, Eddie Howe has confirmed – but it’s only active in June (Times)

Article of the day and match of the night

As you settle in for your Friday night, why not catch up with our conversation with Dutch football expert Arthur Renard on what Slot could bring and how he will fit in at Liverpool.

Or watch it here!

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Match of the night is in LaLiga, where Real Sociedad host Real Madrid in an 8pm kickoff on ITV4 in the UK.

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Liverpool head to West Ham feeling flat after a poor run of form, with a response badly needed as Jurgen Klopp‘s exit approaches.

West Ham vs. Liverpool

Premier League (35) | London Stadium
April 25, 2024 | 12.30pm (BST)

The Reds’ 2-0 defeat away to Everton was one of the lowest moments of the season so far, with a complete lack of quality and fight.

The result effectively ended Liverpool’s chances of winning the Premier League, but it is important not to end the campaign in a complete mess.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game.

1. Massive response required

Wednesday’s Merseyside derby was as frustrating as it was dispiriting.

Liverpool have tailed off alarmingly in recent weeks, with Klopp looking as jaded and out of ideas as so many of his players.

A victory is essential as West Ham, not least so that Liverpool don’t risk getting pulled into an unlikely top-four battle, and they should be stinging after midweek, producing a response in the process.

More dropped points would feel even more alarming.

2. Time for Moyes to go?

West Ham aren’t exactly in high spirits going into the game either, with an increasing feeling that David Moyes is on his way out.

After winning the Europa Conference League last season, this campaign has been more inconsistent, and a new manager is being discussed – including, for what it’s worth, Ruben Amorim.

Last Sunday’s 5-2 defeat away to Crystal Palace was a low point, and a mid-table finish is now looking on the cards.

The decision looks set to rest with Moyes, but another defeat to Liverpool this weekend will further crank up the pressure on him to move on.

3. Who’s out for Liverpool?

Liverpool are still without Diogo Jota, who won’t be back until next month after suffering a muscle injury away to Fulham last weekend.

Similarly, Conor Bradley is still absent with an ankle problem.

Cody Gakpo is available, however, following the birth of his son.

Joel Matip, Thiago and Ben Doak are all still out, too, with the first two likely having played their last game for Liverpool.

4. Possible Liverpool XI

Liverpool’s performance at Everton was so bad that few could complain if they were left out at the London Stadium.

Ibrahima Konate was one of the worst players on the night and it would be no surprise to see Jarell Quansah come in for him.

Joe Gomez could replace the tired Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, while in midfield, Wataru Endo may play after being on the bench in midweek.

Liverpool’s attackers are horribly out of sorts, in particular Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez, and Gakpo merits a start.

The Dutchman missed the Everton game because his wife was in labour.

Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Elliott, Gravenberch; Salah, Diaz, Gakpo

5. How will West Ham line up?

Jarrod Bowen is expected to return for West Ham after missing the defeat to Palace, acting as a big boost for Moyes.

Alphonse Areola is expected to replace Lukasz Fabianksi in goal, if fit, and there are no new injury problems for the Hammers.

Barring Areola and Bowen coming back in, the starting lineup could be similar to the one at Selhurst Park, having had all week off.

Lucas Paqueta is one to watch, with the Brazilian a superb all-round midfielder who has been strongly linked with Man City in the summer transfer window.

Possible West Ham XI: Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta; Antonio

6. Klopp’s presser

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Addressing the media on Friday, Klopp approved of Arne Slot as his likely replacement as Liverpool manager this summer:

“What I would like about it, if he is the one, is that he wants to take the job – come on, let’s go, excited.

“I like the way his team plays football. All the things I hear about him as a guy, good guy. Some people I know know him, I don’t, but some people tell me he’s a really good guy.

“So good coach, good guy, looking forward for the club if he’s the solution. It’s not up to me to judge, but it all sounds really good to me.”

Here’s hoping that Slot is anything close to as incredible as Klopp has been.

7. Liverpool hit-and-miss at the London Stadium

It’s fair to say that Liverpool have been unpredictable when making the trip to the London Stadium over the years.

Their first game there was a vital 4-0 win in the top-four battle back in May 2017, with Philippe Coutinho scoring twice, and Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi also netting.

There was also a 4-1 triumph at the London Stadium later that year, but also a damaging 1-1 draw in 2018/19 that proved costly in the title race.

Liverpool’s only defeat at West Ham‘s current home was in November 2021, with a 3-2 loss coming their way.

8. Did you know?

Salah is desperately in need of some good form, with the Liverpool legend completely out of sorts since returning from injury.

He excels against West Ham, however, and is the most prolific scorer in the history of the fixture with 11 goals.

Should he score on Saturday, he will be the second Reds player in history to score in three different fixtures against the Hammers in the same season, after John Toshack in 1975/76.

Only against Man United (14) has Salah scored more goals for Liverpool, also finding the net 11 times against Man City.

9. Anthony Taylor in charge

Anthony Taylor is the referee this weekend – it feels like he has constantly been in charge of Liverpool games this season!

There is definite truth to that, with Saturday the sixth time he will have overseen a Reds league match in 2023/24.

The most high-profile of those were the 3-1 loss at Arsenal and recent 2-2 draw at home to Man United, and Liverpool have only won one of the five fixtures overall.

That was the 4-2 win over Newcastle at Anfield on New Year’s Day.

Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Josh Smith
VAR: Tim Robinson
Assistant VAR: Wade Smith

10. Follow the match with TIA

West Ham vs. Liverpool is live on TNT Sports 1 from 11am (BST), with kickoff at 12.30pm.

Harry McMullen is in charge of TIA’s matchday live blog from 11.45am, looking to bring you more joy than has been in recent weeks.

Come on you Reds!

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The Premier League case against Manchester City over alleged breaches of its financial rules “will resolve itself in the near future,” its chief executive Richard Masters has said.

City remain in pole position to retain their title following a 4-0 win over Brighton on Thursday night, which would be their second since 115 charges were laid against them by the Premier League in February last year.

Asked whether a second City success while the charges remained outstanding would damage European league football, Masters said: “It’s not for the football authorities to start being selective about who they would like to win the league.

“The key point is that you’ve got that jeopardy until the final day. Who knows where we will be on May 19?”

Masters, speaking at the European Leagues general assembly, added: “Obviously we can’t comment on the case, the date has been set and the case will resolve itself at some point in the near future, and I cannot make any further comment on it.”

An independent commission is set to hear the case later this year, but certainly not before the current campaign ends. Given the extent of the charges, a decision in the case may not come until next year.

City said at the time the charges were laid that they welcomed a review of this matter by an independent commission “to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of our position.”

The club added: “As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”

City trail Arsenal by a point heading into the weekend but have a game in hand on the Gunners.

If they can win the title, it would be their fourth in a row and sixth in the last seven seasons.

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After Nottingham Forest recently brought up the topic of officials’ teams, a report revealed how personal allegiances affect each of the 20 main Premier League referees.

After Nott’m Forest were on the end of some incorrect refereeing decisions against Everton, they released an extraordinary statement saying they had “warned the PGMOL that the VAR,” Stuart Attwell, was “a Luton fan.”

For a multitude of reasons this didn’t go down well and, while the tone of Forest’s words were wrong in insinuating bias, they have a point about the general appointments of officials in the Premier League.

After the incident, the Telegraph released a report detailing who several of the 20 main Premier League referees support, as well as declaring which officials are prohibited from managing certain clubs.

From those selected by the newspaper, five aren’t allowed to officiate Liverpool matches due to allegiances to the Reds or their rivals.

Darren Bond, Jarred Gillett, Peter Bankes, Rob Jones and Michael Salisbury were the five named, three of whom come from Merseyside or nearby areas.

Just two of the 20 are originally from Manchester, Anthony Taylor and Chris Kavanagh, but neither are forbidden from taking charge of Man City or Man United.

Taylor has long been down as an Altrincham supporter and Kavanagh is reportedly a fan of non-league Droylsden.

While it has long been questioned why referees from Manchester can take charge of clubs in their city and Liverpool, it is worth noting Mike Dean, a Tranmere fan, was from Merseyside and refereed teams from both cities, too.

Outside the North West, two referees can’t do Sheffield United or Sheffield Wednesday games, two can’t do Swindon matches and two can’t do Wigan fixtures.

Interestingly, though just a coincidence, none of the 20 referees to feature in the report are from England’s two biggest cities, London and Birmingham.

Forest haven’t backed down on the topic of Attwell’s appointment as the VAR for their match, later stating: “This was an issue we raised with PGMOL prior to the fixture because of the fear of the side show that would ensue if anything went wrong with officiating in the game.

“That fear has materialised, as the correctness of three important decisions against the club have been called into doubt.”

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Liverpool travel to West Ham low on confidence this weekend, but the Hammers aren’t exactly brimming with self-belief themselves currently.

The Reds lost 2-0 at Everton on Wednesday, effectively ending their Premier League title hopes with their 2023/24 season petering out depressingly.

Next up is the Saturday lunchtime trip to West Ham, with victory badly needed to stop the rot that has set in recently.

Ahead of the match, we spoke to West Ham podcaster and fan James Jones (@ByJames Jones) to get the lowdown on his team, David Moyes, the title race and much more.

How positive has this season been?

It started positively and with so much hope after winning the Europa Conference League, but since the turn of the year, it has gone backwards and has become very toxic.

West Ham have gone from being sixth in the Premier League and front-runners to secure a top-six finish, to slipping down to eighth and European qualification no longer in our hands.

That’s thanks to winning just four games in 2024 to this point.

We’ve failed to beat Sheffield United, Burnley, Bournemouth, Fulham and Crystal Palace in the league, and it’s cost us massively.

Is it the right time for Moyes to go?

Yes, I think it is, but the levels he’s taken us to over the last four years were beyond our wildest dreams.

We were deep in a relegation battle when he came back and, since then, we have reached three consecutive European quarter-finals, a Europa League semi-final and won silverware.

We’ve finished in the top seven of the Premier League twice. No one saw it coming.

But Moyes’ failure to build a squad capable of competing across multiple fronts, due to his preference of working with a smaller squad, is a key factor behind why it’s all gone wrong this year. The players are running out of steam.

On top of that, his tactics don’t always complement the talent we have in the squad, hence the silly dropped points against teams at the bottom of the league.

It’s often so negative, and while that had previously proved to be successful and was the foundation behind Moyes’ early success at the club, it’s no longer effective.

That’s evident in the fact we’ve conceded more goals than any one else in the Premier League outside the bottom three.

The feeling is it’s time for the club to move on with a manager who has fresh ideas, a more positive tactical approach and is willing to build a squad that can compete across an entire season, not just two-thirds of one.

Moyes will leave a legend, though. I’ll always love the man.

 

Who would you like to replace him?

There are so many names being thrown around already. I’ve always said someone like Graham Potter would be a good appointment.

The Chelsea job was arguably too big for him, but West Ham are the type of club and project where I think he could build on what he was doing at Brighton.

Aside from that, I quite like what Andoni Iraola is doing at Bournemouth with a relatively small budget.

They play a good brand of football and you would think with a crop of better players he could expand on that at West Ham.

Who have been West Ham’s best and worst players this season?

Jarrod Bowen has been superb and would most likely be everyone’s pick for our best player, but my man is Emerson Palmieri.

He literally doesn’t have a bad game and is so effective down the left, both defensively and going forward.

He goes under the radar a little because his goal and assist numbers are often low, but I’ve always said the sign of a good player is one you don’t notice on the pitch.

That’s Emerson.

His close friendship with Lucas Paqueta also means he and the Brazilian link-up really nicely.

Worst player? Hate to say it because I think everything’s worked against him since he arrived, but it’s Kalvin Phillips.

A loan signing we didn’t need, for starters, but also a player whose confidence needed a club where there was absolutely no pressure of expectation of hitting top levels.

West Ham was the complete opposite and he just hasn’t been able to recover what he had at Leeds and with England.

 

How do you assess Liverpool’s title hopes?

After that defeat to Everton, I think it’s going to be very difficult for Liverpool now.

Three points behind Arsenal and with Man City having two games in hand, it’s no longer in your hands.

It has to be four wins from four and hope Arsenal and City both drop points at least twice in their remaining games.

Who would you like to win the title?

Anyone but Arsenal. The thought of their gloating, cocky and self-entitled fans having any glory upsets me greatly.

It would also give me great pleasure in seeing Declan Rice win nothing after he spent years saying he “wanted to win it all” in his career, only to choose to sign for Arsenal.

They are a club that hasn’t and probably won’t win it all.

 

As for Saturday, where will the key battles take place?

I think it all depends on whether Bowen is fit or not AND if Paqueta turns up.

Paqueta is becoming very inconsistent, but on his day, he can unlock any defence in the world.

We need that on Saturday, and with Bowen’s pace in behind, we will be dangerous in attack.

My concern is in defence. We’re shipping goals for fun at the moment and Kurt Zouma can no longer run, which is a worry against a team with a fast attack like Liverpool.

Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz could have a field day up against our defence if given the time and space on the ball.

 

If you could only have one Liverpool player at West Ham, who would it be?

I think I’ve said it before on this site and I’ll say it again: Diogo Jota. I just love him.

He scores all sorts of goals and can play pretty much anywhere in a front-three, or even a little deeper behind the attack.

It’s a shame that he’s having injury problems at the moment, but I have to say I’m pleased he won’t be playing on Saturday.

Finally, what’s your prediction?

Given Liverpool’s form, I think we have a chance of taking something this weekend.

But I’m aware that Jurgen Klopp will not want to see any more dropped points as he attempts to take the title race to the final weekend.

As long as Liverpool are still in the race, there’s still a chance, and that’s what West Ham are up against this weekend.

I’m going to remain positive and predict a 2-1 West Ham win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the other way round.

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