Paul Merson has suggested that Arne Slot could end up at another Premier League club if he were to be dismissed as Liverpool head coach.
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The Dutchman has come under increasing scrutiny this season as the Reds’ top-flight title defence has crumbled miserably, with the Merseysiders left to try and salvage Champions League qualification for 2026/27 and currently sitting sixth in the table.
Today the 47-year-old will be hoping to capitalise on Chelsea’s Saturday slip-up by winning at home to a Tottenham Hotspur side who sit just one point above the relegation zone, and whose own boss (Igor Tudor) is believed to be on borrowed time despite only taking the job last month.
Merson: Slot needs Champions League qualification to keep his job
Speaking on Sky Sports‘ Soccer Saturday, Merson claimed that winning the FA Cup wouldn’t spare Slot from the sack if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League.
The pundit said: “If he won the FA Cup but didn’t finish in Champions League positions it wouldn’t make any difference at all. I think Liverpool have got to get in the Champions League with the [financial] fair play rule. The more you get into the Champions League, the better quality player you can bring in.”
Merson then expressed a bold prediction as to where the Dutchman may end up if he leaves Anfield, saying: “He will have to get in the top four, I would have thought, otherwise he’d be [the next] Tottenham manager.”
Could Slot plausibly end up at Spurs if he’s sacked by Liverpool?
Ironically, Slot was understood to be a leading candidate for the Spurs job three years ago, only to turn them down in favour of remaining at Feyenoord for one more season before Liverpool came calling (The Athletic).
The Dutchman’s finest moment as LFC head coach came against the north Londoners on the day of the 5-1 win at Anfield last April which confirmed the Reds as Premier League champions. Defeat in that fixture today would arguably mark the lowest point of the 47-year-old’s time on Merseyside.
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Merson is among numerous pundits to claim that Slot’s job at Liverpool could hinge on whether or not they qualify for the Champions League, and it’s not implausible that FSG could pull the trigger if they miss out on the riches which come from participating in Europe’s flagship club competition.
If that were to happen, would the current LFC boss resurface at Spurs a few months later? That may well depend on the outcome of the Londoners’ season, with relegation from the top flight a genuine possibility if they fail to arrest their ongoing decline.
With all due respect, it’s difficult to envisage the man who won the Premier League less than a year ago dropping down to the Championship so soon after that triumph, should that indeed be the fate to which Tudor’s current side are consigned.
For now, though, Slot has a job to do at Liverpool, and victory today is essential in order to capitalise on Chelsea’s slip-up against Newcastle and propel the Reds back into the Champions League qualification places (on the presumption that fifth will be good enough to earn that golden ticket).