Arne Slot will take over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool for the 2024/25 campaign but it may have been Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim had the Portuguese coach been willing to walk away from his favourite formation.
Klopp announced in January that he will be ending his reign at the Reds after nine successful years at the end of the season and the early favourite for the job was Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso. However, the Spanish coach would go on to confirm that he will remain at the Bundesliga champions for another season.
Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim was then seen as the main contender for the Liverpool job but it is being reported by Football Insider that the main reason the Portuguese coach didn’t get the Anfield role was due to his 3-4-3 formation.
Liverpool are said to have interviewed the 39-year-old but felt that the Sporting boss was not willing to walk away from his favourite formation.
Klopp currently uses a 4-3-3 system and the hierarchy at Anfield wanted a manager who could get the most out of the current group of players.
Ruben Amorim’s pain is Arne Slot’s gain
Liverpool have found their replacement for Jurgen Klopp having agreed a deal with Feyenoord for Arne Slot last week. The Premier League giants will pay the Dutch club a compensation package of around £7.7m, plus £1.7m in add-ons, reports Sky Sports.
The 45-year-old uses a 4-2-3-1 system that is basically a 4-3-3 and Slot’s teams also have similar characteristics to the current Liverpool one under Klopp’s watch.
This will make the transition a little easier for the players at the Merseyside club, even though they are losing a monumental figure in Klopp, whose departure will have a gigantic impact on Liverpool as a football club and a city.