Forget Iraola: FSG could hire "world-class" Slot replacement at Liverpool

Arne Slot, the embattled Liverpool boss, survived the 2024/25 campaign, but whether he will survive the summer is still anyone's guess.

The dissenters have only grown in size and sound over the past several months. It's impossible to ignore, and something needs to be done, sharpish, to ensure that the past year can fade into obscurity.

Etiënne Reijnen, formerly Slot's assistant at Feyenoord, was reported one week ago to be in line for a new role at Anfield next season, but it's curious that this still hasn't been finalised, almost as if FSG are pondering their options after such a calamitous campaign.

Last year's Premier League champions barely managed to qualify for the Champions League, and with so much having gone wrong, it would make sense that FSG would at leas consider market opportunities before attacking the 2026/27 season.

Who Liverpool could hire to replace Slot

Andoni Iraola has curiously decided to cease talks with AC Milan as he holds out for a move to Liverpool this summer. The outgoing Bournemouth boss has been the talk of the town recently, but FSG continue to keep their cards close to their chest.

Iraola, 43, is one of the most exciting young coaches in Europe, but perhaps the Liverpool decision-makers are wary of replacing Slot with someone so inexperienced at the highest level.

It's worth stressing that the Basque-born manager is not the only person on the Reds' radar, though.

Report from April suggest that Julian Nagelsmann is firmly in FSG's thinking, the Germany manager's agents having held talks with Liverpool officials in an unofficial capacity. He would jump at the chance to join the Merseyside outfit.

Nagelsmann might be leading his homeland over the pond for the 2026 World Cup, but Liverpool could strike a deal after the tournament finishes in mid July.

Why Nagelsmann could be an Iraola upgrade for Liverpool

Right from the off, it's been clear that Nagelsmann's is a special tactical mind, and he has only gone from strength to strength since emerging as a twenty-something manager at Hoffenheim, a rare feat.

Now 38, he has enjoyed a variety of stints across Germany, culminating with the international post, and so it might be time for the fluent English speaker to try his hand in foreign territory, certainly having secured a reputation as a "world-class" coach, according to journalist Rory Smith.

"Guardiola's Barcelona is my role model", said RB Leipzig manager Nagelsmann in 2019, emphasising a playing style that would not bring the return of Klopp's gegenpressing. That's not to say that he doesn't demand energy and intensity and pressure from his player, but that he has his own hybrid approach.

Iraola would raise the fitness levels at Liverpool, but can he deal with the demands of managing one of the best and most demanding clubs in the world?

Hailed as the "best young coach in Europe" by reporter Josh Bunting, Nagelsmann is now growing into one of the best in the business, someone who has accrued a wealth of experience that puts him in a good position to take Slot's position and make something from the materials handed to him.

Iraola might bring the high-intensity, "rock and roll" brand of football that fans have yearned for at Liverpool this season, but that is certainly not to say that he would automatically qualify as Liverpool's long-term coach.

FSG are nothing if not careful, and they will only sack Slot if there is a clear strategy in place to put the Reds back on track.

With Nagelsmann at the helm, they might just hit the jackpot, striking a perfect balance and returning to title-challenging form, as the fanbase has come to expect.

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