A report has revealed some background on how Liverpool ended up deciding on Arne Slot as their new head coach, with Paulo Fonseca’s name popping up.
According to The Athletic, Liverpool began a data-led process to replace the outgoing Jurgen Klopp and when Xabi Alonso ruled himself out of contention they had to pivot. The Ruben Amorim rumours caused ‘a degree of annoyance’ within the club, because they did not want other candidates thinking they had offered the job to somebody else.
Ultimately their hierarchy were ‘unconvinced that his preference for a three-man central defence’ and his playing style being a bit too slow. There were ‘similar conclusions’ about De Zerbi at Brighton and Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Iraola at Bournemouth and Eddie Howe at Newcastle United were also discussed, in addition to Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness (whose data scores were closely aligned with Klopp’s) plus Michel of Girona.
Inter’s Simone Inzaghi was regarded as a ‘well-respected coach whose lack of English was potentially problematic’ while Lille’s Paulo Fonseca was considered too, albeit ‘never seriously in the frame’.
Thomas Tuchel was not a concrete option at any point, while Ernesto Valverde and Luciano Spalletti, were ‘of significant interest’, but in the end they went for the Feyenoord fan favourite Slot.
When their directors set out to find Klopp’s successor, they believed they would start with 20 candidates and gradually whittle them down to 10, then perhaps five and then three for a final round of interviews.
However, they settled on Slot as their preferred candidate fairly quickly and they then persuaded Liverpool’s ownership team to open formal negotiations with Feyenoord.
Now it seems Fonseca with arrive at Milan against a backdrop of discontent, but it certainly raises questions if he was on Liverpool’s radar and perhaps implies a data-led element to the Rossoneri’s decision.