sport news Arne Slot is inspired by Pep Guardiola, is obsessed with tactics and total ... trends now
The prospect of a Dutch manager with a near-maniacal focus on tactics taking charge of one the giants of English football has a certain familiar ring to it.
Two years after Erik ten Hag left Ajax for Manchester United, Arne Slot looks set to follow his old foe to the north west of England.
Slot has emerged as a strong contender for the Anfield gig and the unenviable task of replacing Jurgen Klopp, who will depart after nine years in charge at the end of the season.
Indeed, on Wednesday morning it emerged talks have already begun between Liverpool and Feyenoord with the compensation fee set at £8.5million.
While ten Hag's days at Old Trafford may be numbered following a dismal second season in charge, the parallels between him and Slot are obvious and not just in terms of looks and nationality.
Feyenoord manager Arne Slot is the man expected to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool
The Dutchman shares plenty of parallels with his countryman Erik ten Hag, the ex-Ajax boss
Klopp's nine-year spell at Liverpool will come to a close at the end of the season
Ten Hag was a solid if unspectacular centre-back. The 54-year-old played for Twente in three separate spells, De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk and Utrecht over a career that spanned 13 seasons.
Similarly, Slot was a decent enough midfielder, albeit one whose technical abilities were hampered by a lack of pace.
The 45-year-old spent most of his career playing as No 10, making over 460 league appearances for FC Zwolle, NAC Breda, Sparta Rotterdam and PEC Zwolle.
Their respective limitations as players arguably helped ten Hag and Slot become the managers they are, as they understood the importance of teams working as one cohesive unit.
Like ten Hag, Slot is ruthlessly ambitious and a control freak who demands total control at a club.
As Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and to a lesser extent Marcus Rashford have found out, players cross ten Hag at their peril.
Slot's and ten Hag's managerial spells in the Netherlands have also followed a similar path.
Slot led Feyenoord to only their second Eredivisie title in 24 years last season
He followed it up this season by winning the Dutch Cup last week against NEC Nijmegen
The 45-year-old is ruthlessly ambitious and described as control freak by those close to him
When the latter took charge of Ajax in December 2017, the Amsterdammers had not won the league in three years - an eternity by their standards.
By the time he left for United, he'd lifted the Eredivisie title three times in four seasons and won two Dutch Cups along the way.
Slot, meanwhile, steered Feyenoord to their first league title in six years and only their second in 24 years last season.
The relentless pace set by PSV Eindhoven - who have won 26 of their 30 games so far - has denied Feyenoord a second consecutive triumph this term, but they secured the Dutch Cup last week.
Both ten Hag and Slot masterminded thrilling European runs in charge of Ajax and Feyenoord.
In 2019, the Amsterdammers memorably put Juventus and Real Madrid to the sword en route to reaching the Champions League
