European giants have changed their coaches, and Liverpool and Bayern Munich have been actively looking for new coaches for the coming season. It has been widely reported in the British media that Liverpool have approached Feyenoord coach Arne Slot as a favourite to succeed Jurgen Klopp. Ralf Rangnick and Roberto de Zerbi are two of the favourites to select Bayern Munich managers, with the former in talks with Bayern.
Since Jurgen Klopp announced his departure from Liverpool at the end of the season, the Reds have struggled to find a replacement. According to Sky Sports, Feyenoord coach Slote met all the conditions for Liverpool, but the selection of a manager was not a foregone conclusion, and Feyenoord also wanted to try to keep him. Both The Athletic and Eurosport described Slote as a leading candidate, while The Guardian and Sky Sports described him as a strong candidate.
Slote is the Dutch head coach who started as an assistant coach in AZ Alkmaar until 2019 and took over Feyenoord in 21/22 after being sacked in 2020. The 45-year-old led Feyenoord to the Dutch Cup last weekend and last season he won the league title for the first time in six years. Before he took over, Feyenoord finished fifth in the Eredivisie and after two seasons he led the team to the title.
He was the Eredivisie manager of the year in 21/22 and 22/23, while the 20/21 season was won by then-Ajax boss and now Manchester United Erik ten Hag.
His aggressive and all-out style has attracted Liverpool's interest. Under his charge, Feyenoord excelled at moving from defending to creating shots, and the number of successful tackles in the three-point area saw Feyenoord top in the Eredivisie. Feyenoord are currently second in the Eredivisie, nine points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven, scoring 77 goals and conceding 23 in 30 games.
Slote has a knack for playing against his opponents on a limited budget and is able to improve the performance of individual players as well as the team as a whole. He used 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations for Feyenoord, the same formation that Liverpool are currently used to. He has built a high-intensity team pressing system with an offensive-led style. He has been linked with Tottenham, Chelsea and Leeds United before, but he signed Feyenoord until 2026 in May last year, and if he leaves, it is believed that he will have to pay around £9 million.
According to Sky Sports, Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim is no longer Liverpool's favourite but could still move to the Premier League next season as West Ham are interested in bringing him in to replace David Moyes. However, West Ham are still considering several options such as Julen Lopetegui and Paulo Fonseca.
Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel also coached his departure at the end of the season, and the Bundesliga giants are also looking for a new manager for the coming season, and they were originally interested in Bayer Leverkusen coach Xavi Alonso, but he has indicated that he will stay, so Bayern will have to look for another option. Germany's "Sky Sports" and "Bild" revealed that Bayern had entered into substantive negotiations with Austrian national team coach Ralf Rangnick and invited him to coach.
Football journalist Fabrizio Romano said on his social media account that Ralph Rangnick has been on Bayern's shortlist, and he is open to the position, with negotiations continuing. Roberto De Zerbi is also on Bayern's list, but there has been no further contact between the two sides. As for Villa boss Unai Emery, he has never been close to Bayern Munich and is currently 100 per cent focused on Villa's game.
According to the French newspaper "Le Teams", Roberto De Zerbi wants to bring a large team to Bayern, and the salary requirements are quite high, so Ralph Rangnick is more likely to take over, and Bayern tends to find a transitional coach, hoping to persuade Xavi Alonso to join in the long run.
In addition, former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger responded to reporters at the Lawrence Awards Ceremony if he was considering coaching Bayern, and he replied that "I am no longer in the transfer market".