Liverpool ‘raise offer’ to £69m for Slot’s ‘first request’ with ‘significant number of changes’ ahead
Arne Slot reportedly wants to sign Aurelien Tchouameni in the summer
Liverpool have upped their offer for Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni as they look to provide Arne Slot with new signings, according to reports.
The Reds are bracing themselves for a summer of upheaval after Jurgen Klopp announced earlier this year that he will be leaving Anfield at the end of the season to take a break from football.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso and Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim were early frontrunners to replace Klopp but widespread reports now indicate that Slot will become the new Liverpool boss once the campaign has concluded.
Liverpool will lose the majority of Klopp’s key backroom staff too, while there have been rumours that some of the Premier League club’s key senior players could also leave with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold all linked with moves away.
There are new ideas in terms of recruitment at the club too with Michael Edwards returning to Anfield as FSG’s CEO of football, while Richard Hughes has arrived from Bournemouth as the club’s new sporting director.
But some of the same targets seem to have remained with Spanish newspaper Nacional insisting that Liverpool are still extremely interested in Real Madrid’s Tchouameni.
The report adds that the France international ‘still remains on the agenda’ on Merseyside and ‘is a priority issue’ for the Reds as they prepare ‘for a significant number of changes’ at the club over the summer.
And Nacional add that Liverpool have ‘raised their offer’ to €80m (£69m) for Slot’s ‘first request’ as they ‘maintain their commitment’ to signing the Real Madrid midfielder.
MORE ON THE SLOT AND FUTURE LIVERPOOL PLANNING FROM F365
Liverpool: Slot warned about ‘players with much bigger mouths’; stars ‘privately underwhelmed’
Slot reveals likelihood of signing specific players at Liverpool as he seeks Klopp advice
Former Liverpool man slams Slot for ‘lacking class’ in interview with Klopp ‘still the manager’
Liverpool attempted to sign Tchouameni before he signed for Real Madrid and now Carlo Ancelotti ‘will be the one who decides’ whether the Frenchman is kept or sold in the summer.
‘It’ll be important for the fans to back Arne’
Not everyone thinks appointing Slot is a good idea for Liverpool but Reds legend John Barnes reckons the fans must stick behind the Dutchman if he has “a few teething problems early on”
Barnes told soccernews.nl: “I don’t think there are many holes in the Liverpool team that Slot will need to fix. If you look at the squad we have alongside the players coming back to full fitness, we can be very competitive next season.
“Replacing Klopp is difficult but the tougher task will be getting the fans to believe in Slot. Getting the fans to trust and stick by him if he doesn’t win the first few games at the club.
“It’ll be important for the fans to back Arne if there are a few teething problems early on. We’ve seen managers, Arteta included struggle early on but the fans stuck by him and look at Arsenal now. On the other hand look at what’s happened to Manchester United with previous managers or Chelsea with previous managers. Where the fans didn’t trust the manager and that filters onto the pitch.
“In football today very good managers are undermined by their environment and lack of support. A team’s success is a collective responsibility between the club, the manager, the players, the staff and the fans.”
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