‘Very highly regarded’ – Insider suggests ‘top young manager’ could be a viable successor to Slot

Transfer insider Pete O’Rourke has named one ‘top young manager’ in Europe as a viable successor to Arne Slot at Liverpool.

The level of scrutiny on the Dutchman has become even more intense after the Reds slumped to a 10th Premier League defeat of the season away to Brighton on Saturday, after which Jermaine Pennant appeared to call for a change in the dugout ahead of next season.

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Liverpool Echo reporter Paul Gorst has explained that the incumbent head coach is highly unlikely to be sacked during the current international break, but warned that the ‘noise’ surrounding his future is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Speaking on Football Insider‘s Transfer Insider podcast, O’Rourke suggested that a precocious German managerial prospect could potentially nudge his way into Liverpool’s thinking, although a more familiar name would still appear to be the leading candidate.

Sebastian Hoeness talked up as potential Liverpool boss

He stated: “Sebastian Hoeness is very highly regarded, (and has) done an unbelievable job with Stuttgart, really. He’s under contract until 2028. I’m sure Stuttgart do not want to lose him, but they’ll be well aware that it won’t just be the likes of Liverpool who’d be interested in Hoeness.

“I think there will be a number of clubs across Europe who will be looking at him because of what he has done so far in his career. He’s helped to develop a number of top young players there as well.

“He’s a top young manager. I don’t think he’d be top of Liverpool’s list right now. It does seem that if Slot were to go, Xabi Alonso would be the obvious fit; but if Hoeness continues doing good things like he’s doing at Stuttgart, it’ll only be a matter of time before some of Europe’s top clubs are ready to take him.”

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Could Hoeness be a good fit for Liverpool if Slot were to go?

Those who don’t follow German football closely mightn’t be aware of Hoeness’ body of work over the past three years, but a closer inspection shows why O’Rourke is talking him up as a possible post-Slot candidate for Liverpool.

In April 2023, the tactician took over a Stuttgart side who were bottom of the Bundesliga and kept them up, before then guiding them to a runners-up finish the following season and, 12 months later, winning the DFB-Pokal.

He’s won 81 of his 143 games in charge of Die Schwaben so far (56.6% win rate) and his team have scored 308 goals in that time, an average of 2.15 per game (Transfermarkt).

The 43-year-old has favoured a high-pressing system at the MHPArena in which full-backs are given licence to surge forward and act as a supply line for the attack (Coaches’ Voice), both of which correspond with the peak era of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

Whether or not FSG would favour him over a marquee name like Alonso (who is seemingly likely to take the Reds job if he were offered it) is debatable, although it’d appear to be purely speculative for as long as Slot retains the backing of the Anfield hierarchy.

A pre-Easter changing of the guard is highly unlikely to happen, although movement in the summer is plausible if the Merseysiders drop even further down the Premier League table by the close of play in two months’ time.

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