Liverpool finally have their Jurgen Klopp replacement as Arne Slot takes charge at Anfield.
It has been known for some time that Slot would be the man to take over following Klopp’s glorious tenure.
But up until Wednesday, Liverpool fans were yet to hear from their new leader. Some were getting a little restless. Finally, that can now all be put to bed. Slot has spoken.
The Dutchman made a marvellous first impression at the AXA Training Centre as he addressed staff and in-house media.
Obviously, with the players all on summer break or with their national teams, no members of the Liverpool squad were there to greet their new boss. But that hasn’t stopped Slot from reaching out to a few of them.
Arne Slot details Virgil van Dijk conversation
With Copa America set to get underway on Friday morning and Euro 2024 coming into its second week, it will still be a while before the Liverpool players come back to base.
Even for those such as Mohamed Salah, Kostas Tsimikas and Wataru Endo, it will be couple of weeks until we see them.
Nevertheless, a change of manager is a big thing for a football squad. Having been used to Klopp for almost nine years, it will be huge for virtually every Liverpool player.
So, it feels only right that Slot should contact one or two of the bigger names before meeting in person.
Perhaps Salah aside, the biggest name in the Liverpool squad is Virgil van Dijk. The captain has become the figurehead of the club.
And having taken over from Klopp, Slot says he made it a priority to call Van Dijk. Speaking on a behind the scenes video of his first day on the job at Liverpool for LFCTV, the head coach shared some details of the conversation with his compatriot.
“After Jurgen left I first called Virgil of course because he’s the captain,” says Slot. “And afterwards I called a few other ones but mostly I didn’t call them because they are with their national teams
“It went quite easy [with Van Dijk] because both of us are Dutch, so that helps!” he adds. “Virgil is a very nice and gentle person. We spoke a bit about Liverpool and of course we spoke about the Dutch national team which is important for the two of us as well.”
Arne Slot has to sort Virgil van Dijk issue
It is unlikely to have happened in their first phone call, but it’s clear that Slot and Van Dijk need to talk about the captain’s contract situation.
Van Dijk has recently met with Al Nassr over a potential move to Saudi Arabia. With just one year to go on his deal, things are beginning to get serious.
Liverpool are reportedly calm about the situation and it seems fairly certain that the 32-year-old will be at the club next season.
But after having a brilliant season for the Reds, Van Dijk still looks capable of playing for far longer than that.
As a head coach, it seems that contract situations will be a little outside of Slot’s jurisdiction at the club. But if the new boss wants Virgil to stay, then surely that will only help.
They look to have gotten off on the right foot, let’s hope that continues apace.