Arne Slot is one of the main names in the frame as AC Milan look for a new head coach following Massimiliano Allegri’s sacking.
In truth, nobody is quite sure what exactly the vision is for Milan in this confusing and chaotic time for the club, but it seems as though there are two paths with Gerry Cardinale and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could choose to go down.
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The first is an Austro-German route, with Ralf Rangnick as the technical director and either Oliver Glasner or Matthias Jaissle as the head coach, potentially with a sporting director to come in as well. This would be a Red Bull-driven Milan, aimed at an intense style and youth-led recruitment.
The other path is more generally European, with a Spanish sporting director like Ramon Planes, and a head coach with potential but also experience building successful projects. Mauricio Pochettino has been mentioned in this mould, though recently Slot has too.
In fact, the first name on the list was believed to be Andoni Iraola, but he turned it down. He was waiting for Liverpool, or so it seems, and in a sliding doors moment that vacancy has become available after Slot was sacked, leading to the Dutchman being mentioned as a candidate for the Rossoneri.
To get all the details on Slot’s exit from Anfield and what Milan fans could expect if he were to arrive, we spoke to our colleague Farrell Keeling from Empire of the Kop.
Was the news of Arne Slot’s sacking a bit of a shock, given reliable sources said he was staying?
“Arne Slot’s sacking definitely came as a bit of surprise, given the extensive briefing coming out of the club to the contrary. You could understand the decision, given this is still the same coach who delivered the record-equalling 20th Premier League title the prior season, but likewise, the growing toxicity around the club appears to have forced the ownership’s hands.
“There was a small part of me that had hoped the club had received assurances a candidate of Luis Enrique’s calibre would become available next season, but it seems the Spaniard is in no rush to leave the French capital after securing a second Champions League title. And why should he?
“Liverpool are currently a basket case, while Enrique’s PSG is a winning machine that looks set to compete at the top for years to come.”
Is it the right decision, and how will you look back on his time at the club?
“I personally feel it’s the right outcome for all involved. Things have become incredibly toxic at the club, and it’s ultimately difficult to envisage a scenario where Slot can get the fans back onside and the club winning while playing an attractive style of football.
“We don’t ask for a lot at Liverpool; we’re not expecting a Premier League title every season. But a club like Liverpool, with the evident resources available, should be playing the kind of football that gets you off your seat most games as an absolute minimum. Liverpool should be challenging for the biggest trophies on offer every season as an absolute minimum.
“To caveat this, I’m still intensely grateful for everything Arne Slot has achieved during his short stay at L4. He had a thankless task coming in replacing one of the greatest managers in world football (and certainly in Liverpool’s illustrious history).
“No one expected him to lift the league title on his first attempt, and it shouldn’t be understated what an achievement that was with a team Jurgen Klopp didn’t manage to win the title with the year prior in 2023/24.
“I believe (and hope) that the Dutchman will be remembered fondly at Anfield. He delivered a first top-flight title in front of the fans since 1990, he led the club with incredible grace and dignity following the tragic passing of Diogo Jota in the summer, and he’s been an all-round classy bloke.
“It’s an incredible pity that his time on Merseyside has been cut short, and I’m personally disappointed that he didn’t get the fond farewell his achievements warranted. But make no mistake: Arne Slot’s name will rightly be cemented in the club’s folklore.”
It hasn’t taken long for him to be linked with the Milan job. What is your initial reaction?
“I’m delighted that he’s already been linked to a club with serious European pedigree! While I think Liverpool benefitted from Arne’s more possession-focused football and calmer demeanour in the short term, we’re ultimately far more compatible with the chaos and gung-ho ideology of his predecessor.
“To be honest, I think it will do Slot the world of good to get away from the environment at Anfield, given how tricky everything has been to navigate this season. I’m convinced he’ll do well wherever he goes, but I think his more patient game is better suited to clubs in continental Europe than it is to the sheer physicality of English football at the present time.”
What do Slot teams play like? Could his style be a good fit for Serie A, which is seen as a tactically stagnant league?
“Arne Slot loves technicians, loves control, loves patiently figuring out a game, as opposed to imposing by force. I’m by no means an expert on Italian football, but I strongly suspect that this approach to the game will serve him well in Serie A.”
If you were a Milan fan, would you want Slot, Glasner or another name?
“There’s something quite nice about the idea of Slot swapping one European giant for another with AC Milan! The thing to bear in mind with the Dutchman is that if you’re winning with him on a consistent basis and he’s in a confident mood, you’ll find he’s often making the right decisions.
“The subs will be on time, the tactical tweaks mid-game will yield serious improvement, and he generally just comes across as an extremely capable coach – as he indeed did in his first year in charge of Liverpool.
“The problem we’ve since encountered with Slot – and he has personally admitted that he wasn’t used to facing down the scale of adversity (and number of consecutive defeats) he encountered in 2025/26 – is that when the chips are really down and we’re on a bad run, he doesn’t seem to be able to drag the team out of a bad funk.
“Now, for context, Arne Slot hadn’t lost two games in a row ever before his move to Liverpool, so perhaps you can just chalk it down to experience and the litany of mitigating factors behind our collapse in performance levels this term. But it’s something to keep an eye on.
“If I were a Milan fan, I’d be personally pushing for Arne Slot, a Premier League-winning manager, over the (still impressive) Oliver Glasner, even with the latter’s notable success on the European stage. However, if the choice were entirely up to me, I’d be personally looking to speak to a name Liverpool reportedly held talks with midway through the season – and that’s Como boss Cesc Fabregas.
“Whether you could persuade the Spaniard to leave a club he’s steered to the Champions League for the first time in its history… well, let’s say I’d have doubts about that! But if I’m calling the shots at Milan, he’d be right at the top of my list to replace Massimiliano Allegri – I’d be throwing the kitchen sink at him!
“The really seismic jobs in football feel too large a step for Fabregas right now, but a sleeping giant like Milan would represent a suitable step up in the right direction, albeit at the cost of top European football.”
I’d prefer him to the other options. Exactly because of his possession playstyle. A lot of people talk about Klopps Liverpool as an example of playing direct opposed to possession style but he won 1 PL in 10 years. Guardiola has 6 in the same time period. Even in PL, that is know as a physical league with a lot of running and fast play, possession football worked best.–
Agreed!
As much as I enjoy heavy metal football, teams in Serie A plays with such low blocks compared to in the Premier League, that this type of Klopp football will be much harder to implement. There are games where it will definitely work well, but I would feel much more confident having a manager who also knows how to break teams down slowly and methodically when needed.
I do hope we also get Rangnick, even if we appoint Arne Slot as head coach. I believe they share a certain philosophy and would work well together at the top ✨
Idiot if it wasn’t for guardiolas man city machine, klopp would’ve had 3-4 premier leagues they were unlucky in 2018/19 season when they lost the league by only a single point despite losing a single match all season and also in 2021/22 season in which they lost the league by one or two points difference if it wasn’t for man city guardiola klopp would’ve won 3-4 premier league titles
Ok. First learn of , and . After this we can maybe talk. When you call someone an id*ot but you use a single , (accident?) in 50+ words what do you expect as a reply?
As Ancelotti said the other day about ifs.
“If my grandmother had wheels she would be a car”
I doubt you’ll get the point but it works perfectly here.
Every loser has a story as they say. Aside for being uneducated to have a debate and argue your point, you also gave us your loser story. We get it you are angry at Pep, but this guy lifted the trofy his very first year no?
This should tell you something, but as the person you called the name explained, I doubt you will get it.
Losers always come up with excuses, that is why they are losers and will stay losers.
Posting from a burner account. Yep, that’s going to get you taken seriously. I clearly don’t have issues reading, what I do have issues with is paying close attention to what you post, hence the occasional mistakes.
Slott took Liverpool backwards. It takes a special coach to have the single biggest outlay I think ever in a season and screw up. Liverpool’s defence under Slott was horrendous.
18/19 | €241.1M | €373.2M | -€132.1M
19/20 | €164.0M | €351.0M | -€187.0M
20/21 | €261.1M | €357.5M | -€96.4M
21/22 | €297.7M | €364.2M | -€66.5M
22/23 | €404.5M | €398.4M | +€6.1M
23/24 | €456.9M | €452.8M | +€4.1M
24/25 | €494.5M | €491.5M | +€3.0M
Which part is not clear to you again?
Total club income, revenue, whatever you want to call it, more than doubled in this period. Of course the club can post profits. HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PLAYER SALES. They did the about the same in last 2 seasons after Maldini and Massara, still accounts were in profit.
You can’t even do something as simple as post in the correct article so how are trying to explain anything to me? What exactly do your numbers show? You missed a key detail – expenses.
No, the numbers clearly show both. The 2nd row. Anyway, I wasn’t posting to the wrong article, you’ll get it on every comment now. You need to learn something so you aren’t that stupid from now on. I’ll make sure of it, that you read it 50 times and that also other people tell you how wrong you are. You asked for it, I’ll deliver.
I see you’re trying and my criticism of you being an uniformed slacker are hitting home, but I’d suggest posting something called TITLES, so people know what you’re talking about.
Turnover doubled due to a combination of factors (commercial success, matchday revenue, TV revenue, prize money), how exactly are you attributing that to M&M??!?! You don’t want to take a look at the money wasted on transfers to build the scudetto winning team, there were a lot more misses than hits.
Gazidis, the guy you called a cancer, was the driving force behind the commercial success and the profits have CONTINUED, even after Maldini left, despite the fact that the club haven’t won a league title since and have been out of Europe due to what? Due to the one thing Maldini continually failed to do i.e. sell on players for a profit.
ELLIOT
2018-2019. In €194.64 million, out €88.10 million
2019-2020. In €144.08 million, out €59.23 million
2020-2021. In €32.02 million, out €51.65 million
2021-2022. In €100.44 million, out €5.12 million
2022-2023. In €61.79 million, out €11.11 million
Total Spent (In): €532.97 million
Total Recouped (Out): €215.21 million
Total Net Spend: -€317.76 million (in the red)
POST MALDINI
2023-2024. In €132.68m, out €53.66m
2024-2025. In €139.00m, out €53.66m
2025-2026. In €170.00m, out €176.00m
Total Spent (In): €441.68 million
Total Recouped (Out): €283.32 million
Total Net Spend: -€158.36 million (in the red)
And still the club turn a modest profit. Without the sales of Tonali, Reijnders and the massive saves by Tare, that wouldn’t have been possible.
You can post 500 times for all I care, bluffer. You only expose yourself.
“Gazidis, the guy you called a cancer”
You know Gazidis had cancer? He left Milan to get treatment. You really are a special kind of lunatic.
Nobody called Gazidis cancer. 😀 People have been trying to explain to you he had cancer and left the club for about 2 years now. You still can’t understand.
Slot led Liverpool to the EPL title last season and they played beautiful football.
Last summer one of his better players lost his life. Management spent 300 mil on forwards even though their defense was thin. They literally have only 2 CBs, Van Dijk and Konate. They bought Leoni who tore his ACL. The striker Isak they chased all summer long gave them nothing because of injuries. The other striker Ekitike also tore his ACL. Wirtz looked lost in his 1st season in EPL and unable to handle the physicality. The wingback they brought in to replace Trent, Frimpong missed a lot of time because of injuries that Slot had to use Szoboszlai as a right back, he also had to use Gravenbech as a CB. They spent 50 mil on Kerkez, who looked like he belongs back at Milan Primavera.
In 2 seasons at Liverpool he has the same amount of EPL titles as Klopp
I too believe that Slot is the best option from the names going around. We will know more towards the end of the week at least directionaly which way we are heading. Some big decisions to be made. I trust Cardinal more then anyone for a simoke reason that he has the most to lose here., and he is a sound person, and by now he has learned a thing or two about Italian Football and Milan.
Goodness gracious, how is this even worth discussing? Of course this pighead should be nowhere near this club.
I wanted him sacked from Liverpool just for the treatment of Chiesa alone. Disgusting coach.
The only way this makes sense from Slot’s point of view is him leaving a European giant with history in the UCL to go to another albeit former giant who also has tradition steeped in Europe. Other than that, it makes no sense to move here
….Slot……. That the last thing this club needs….!