Arne Slot confirms interest in Liverpool job – with endorsement from Virgil van Dijk

Slot broke his silence on his desire to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, as he revealed talks between his club Feyenoord and the Merseyside club are ongoing.

“It’s no secret I want to go to Liverpool,” said Slot. “Now I am waiting for the clubs to reach an agreement. I am confident that will happen.

“The clubs are negotiating. I am awaiting the outcome.”

Liverpool's initial £7.75million offer to Feyenoord for Slot was rejected earlier this week, but they are ready to up their offer to get their No.1 target.

Slot's comments suggest a deal for him to move to Liverpool is close and that would be welcomed by his fellow Dutchman Van Dijk.

“I find it hard to answer of course, but I think Arne Slot is one of the better Dutch coaches at this moment,” said Van Dijk.

“I think the way of playing and the philosophy he has, that he could be a Liverpool coach. We shall see.”

Slot’s imminent appointment at Liverpool has been hailed as a huge gamble by Reds legend Jamie Carragher, as he believes the move for the Dutchman highlights a lack of quality managerial candidates.

“From Feyenoord to Liverpool is a huge jump and I think it shows at this moment that there's probably a dearth of real top managers out there, when you look at who Liverpool are going for,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

"Initially it was Xabi Alonso - it's only his first full season as a manager - then there was talk of Ruben Amorim from Sporting, who's only 39. Now Arne Slot is the favourite.

“I don't think it's like Rafa Benitez coming in, or Klopp. Benitez coming in on the back of two LaLiga titles and a UEFA Cup, or Klopp winning a couple of league titles and getting to a Champions League final. Liverpool were actually in a different space then.

“That Liverpool team, certainly under Benitez that I was part of, we were the team trying to qualify for the top four. The same with Klopp when he came in.

“But Liverpool are in a different era now. They actually fancy themselves to challenge for the Premier League every season. Next season, in the Champions League they'd expect to get to the quarter-finals at least.

“I think it's a huge jump but he's obviously a great coach with a great track record so far. We'll see.”