Liverpool have replicated the transfer masterplan to secure the Arne Slot after an intense data drive

When Liverpool insisted their search for Jurgen Klopp’s successor would be a data-driven process, they weren’t simply cashing in on their reputation as a leader in the field.

And perhaps surprisingly, given owners Fenway Sports Group were informed of Jurgen Klopp’s end-of-season intentions back in November, the search for a successor to the vaunted German picked up pace about a month ago.

The circumstances surrounding Klopp’s departure were different from the typical exit of a manager who is relieved of his duties or leaves at the end of a contract. Klopp left on his own terms, well before the end of his contract, but not suddenly.

FSG’s owners, in fact, were informed six months before Klopp’s last day on the job and he leaves behind a squad that was built at considerable cost and ready to take the next step together now that they are back in the Champions League .

An exhaustive search was undertaken to find a man whose playing style best resembled the German’s high-pressing, running ethos, as the players they have brought to the club in recent years – Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and all four midfielders. rebuild which cost £150m – were specifically recruited based on the style favored by Klopp and his backroom staff.

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Liverpool had little reason to believe that their manager would not see out the length of a contract that ran until 2026 when those players were added to the squad, so there was little trouble in investing and filling out the core of players in Klopp’s image .

And given that it is a brand of football that has been married to the club for the better part of the last decade, it was always likely that an outright departure would not be the preferred course of action in a post-Klopp world at Anfield.

As a result, it didn’t make sense to start a recruitment drive for a new manager whose playing style would mean huge changes to the playing staff. In this sense, the idea was a continuous evolution rather than a sudden revolution. Throwing the baby out with the bath water was not a sensible option for those tasked with finding the right person to follow on from Klopp.

The details of the analysis and further analysis of the numbers, led by Liverpool’s head of research Will Spearman and FSG’s new ‘CEO of football’ Michael Edwards, are probably only known to a handful of people, but it has been said that Slot featured prominently in all metrics being carefully evaluated.

A key element is his willingness to explore the options available to football clubs in the sports science and medical departments. Liverpool were plagued by injury problems last term, particularly in February and March, when at one point up to 13 first-team players battled for space on the treatment tables at the AXA Training Center .

Some, in fact, argued that the long list of losses left too many short of 100% for a title showdown that ultimately ran out of steam with around a month of the Premier League left to play. How many of the exhausted ones were still walking injured in recent weeks, only they will know, but such a litany of fitness concerns certainly didn’t help the cause.

Slot and his Feyenoord performance boss Ruben Peeters – who is expected to join him on Merseyside – have a track record of avoiding injury and while some of that can be put down to fortune, the Dutchman and his staff they work hard to make sure the players arrive. in the stadium on a match day as close to peak condition as possible. Sleep patterns and gut health are areas of analysis and anything that leads to improved fitness records for more at Anfield is to be welcomed.

Liverpool believe Slot, a two-time Eredivisie manager of the year, has a reputation for over-performing at clubs he has taken over, such as AZ Alkmaar, where he has collected the most points per game of any manager in their history. with an average of 2.11. His AZ were in the middle of a title challenge with Ajax at the top of the Eredivisie in 2020 when the league campaign was cut short due to Covid.

An Eredivisie title with Feyenoord followed in 2023, before a runner-up finish and a Dutch Cup for the season just ended. A run to the 2022 Europa League Conference Final was also a testament to the ability to achieve in Europe. And even though his side were beaten at the final hurdle by wily veteran Jose Mourinho, who was in charge of Roma at the time, that bodes well for a club whose pedigree on the continent is unmatched in England.

On a more agricultural note, judging by Slot’s ability, it may not be a CV that jumps out immediately, but at the age of 45, there is plenty in the overall package that Liverpool feel can be worked with in a new set-up interesting who will see Richard. Hughes arrives as sporting director.

“As an assistant, he did the tactical team talks and the analysis of the training sessions and was very detailed, offering solutions to game situations while he was working on it in training,” Slot’s former full-back told The Guardian. Oussama Idrissi. “I motivate myself every day to become a better player, have a bigger goal in mind and work really hard for it. So I already had that connection with him when he became the head coach at AZ after a year and a half.

“His debut season was incredible. We beat a lot of top teams and Arne made a huge impression on everyone. He always mentioned what we did well but also what we needed to improve.”

Slot’s communication skills have also been praised by those with knowledge and experience of how he works. De Kuip’s team discussions were held in English and he arrived with a perfect understanding of the language, even if he will be arriving in a region that will be very excited to reveal its own unique dialect to him in the coming months.

For some, especially when watching an expert orator like Klopp, this is vital and Slot’s academic ability, shaped by a set of parents who were teachers, helped him deliver key messages and relevant information to his players in a concise and easy to digest way.

Idrissi adds: “He would show us videos of how we could solve things before doing relevant training exercises. He would then analyze those sessions, give feedback and ask you to apply it to matches, which he would then analyze as well.

“It’s the power of repetition and he would do it many times and in different ways. For example, they would show you different ways to build from the back or get high up the pitch. He polishes all of this very well, making his philosophy coachable. He is exceptional at it

“Motivating the starting XI is not that difficult but he is very good with the 12- to 25-year-olds in the squad. You have many different characters in a team and he always knows how to get the boys going. He’s got a joke here and there, too, and he brings a certain relaxation to the team, but he can translate that into a performance-oriented mindset.”

The ability to perform at a self-sustaining club against fancier Eredivisie rivals was a major tick in the Slot column, while there was also talk of the ability to improve players. Such a task will be no stranger to him at Anfield then, but his ability to translate those Feyenoord skills on a much bigger scale at Liverpool, where the spotlight is much harsher, remains the major question mark around appointment.

One way to look at the move, however, is to reflect on how Liverpool recruit within their playing staff. For example, the Reds bring players into the squad based largely on what they feel they can do in the future, as opposed to what they have done in the past. Perhaps only Thiago Alcantara arrived in the Klopp era for what he achieved as a player more than what was thought he could do at Anfield.

Players such as Diogo Jota, Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate, Diaz and Gakpo have all signed up for their potential, in the same way that Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch were last summer. Alexis Mac Allister would have joined as a World Cup winner with Argentina, but the midfielder was also recruited to see out his best days as a Liverpool player. It’s the same basic thinking with Slot taking on the title of ‘head coach’, which is a first in itself at Anfield.

Klopp has spoken at length about the additional responsibilities he has inherited organically over the years as his standing with the fan base and at the club has grown, and a new-look Liverpool is keen to ensure that the replacement doesn’t suffer from the same list of duties that obviously can. leads to exhaustion.

And if Klopp’s insistence that it’s more important what the fans think of you when you leave than when you arrive, the true measure of Slot’s tactical acumen and personal qualities were provided by the fans at De Kuip who gave him a send-off fitting after they finished their campaign with a 4-0 win at home to Excelsior on Sunday. The result took the Dutch side to 92 goals for the season, which was the most for 40 years.

“I will never forget the joy that Arne Slot’s Feyenoord gave me,” was a tweet from Feyenoord fan account @KuipTalk when it was revealed that the two clubs had reached an agreement on a compensation package on April 26. it was one that could quite easily have been written by a Liverpool fan in tribute to Klopp.