Twelve months ago, Arne Slot was the toast of English football. The Dutchman had just led Liverpool to the Premier League title in his first season at Anfield, and he did so at a canter after finishing a mighty ten points clear of runners-up Arsenal. Fast forward to now, however, and the PSV Eindhoven boss currently finds himself on the unemployment line.
There can be no denying that Slot’s second season on Merseyside was an unmitigated disaster. After spending over £400m last summer on the likes of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike, online betting sites expected the Reds to romp to the title again.
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Outlets such as the popular Lucky Rebel made them an odds-on 9/10 favourite to claim a second straight title after a 2-1 win against Everton back in September, the club’s fifth victory on the bounce. But immediately following that triumph, the wheels would well and truly come off the bus.
Liverpool would go on to lose six of the seven games that followed, all but ending their title ambitions as quickly as they had arrived. Slot would manage to lead the Reds to a fifth-place finish, and Champions League qualification at least.
The powers that be at Anfield decided that wasn’t enough. They duly sacked the Dutchman on May 30th, and if the rumour mill is to be believed, he could well now be headed to the San Siro.
Slot to Milan?
In the immediate aftermath of his Liverpool sacking, esteemed Belgian football journalist Sacha Tavolieri immediately linked Slot with the vacant Milan job, stating on his X account – formerly known as Twitter – that “talks are currently underway.” Should there be any truth to that, then the Rossoneri may well pull off quite the coup.
Despite the disappointing downturn in form throughout his second year at Anfield, Slot remains one of Europe’s most highly rated managers. His possession-based high pressing system yielded an Eredivisie title with former club Feyenoord in 2023, pipping heavyweights Ajax and PSV Eindhoven to the title.
He would follow that up with that Premier League triumph with Liverpool last term, proving that his style of football can cut it in the most competitive league on the planet.
But not only that, several underlying concerns massively hindered Slot in his second season on Merseyside. Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah was thought to be a disruptive presence in the dressing room and delivered several damaging media interviews that ramped up the pressure on the manager’s shoulders.
If that wasn’t bad enough, both Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike – two strikers Slot and Liverpool forked out over £200m to sign last summer – were downed with potentially career-changing injuries throughout the course of the campaign.
As such, his stock hasn’t taken too much of a hit, despite Liverpool’s fall from grace, and Milan represents the perfect opportunity for the Dutchman to return to form.
The Rossoneri are in disarray after a disastrous end to the 2025/26 season, and expectations surrounding the club have never been lower. If Slot comes in, he should be given free rein to chop and change his squad this summer, before attempting to lead the club back towards the upper echelons of Serie A next term.
Allegri’s time over
Milan knows the process of sacking a manager all too well. Max Allegri was the most recent to depart the San Siro hot seat after a disastrous second half to the 2025/26 season.
The former Juventus boss had seemingly led the Rossoneri back into title contention throughout the first half of the campaign. As February approached, Milan had lost just once all season and were only five points behind table toppers Inter.
From there, Allegri would lead the club to six defeats in its final 13 games, not only missing out on the Scudetto, but sliding all the way down to fifth in the table and failing to secure Champions League football for next term.
That disastrous run of form spelt the end for Allegri. He was sacked on May 25th after a season that owners RedBird Capital described as an “unequivocal failure.” The Italian has already found work, agreeing on a two-year deal to succeed Antonio Conte as manager of Napoli. Now, the onus is on Milan to find a new manager of their own, and it’s Slot who is thought to be at the top of the shortlist.
Other runners
The battle for the San Siro hotseat is far from a one-horse race. Before Slot became available, plenty of names were being floated around with the potential of taking charge of Milan.
Current United States manager Mauricio Pochettino was thought to be the frontrunner, despite him gearing up to lead the Stars and Stripes out at the upcoming World Cup.
Then, the highly rated Oliver Glasner was also thought to be a contender, fresh off of leading Crystal Palace to Conference League glory with a 1-0 victory against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig. However, Slot may well have leapfrogged both in the pecking order, and he is now the favourite to take over the Rossoneri in the coming weeks.
