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Arne Slot a strong candidate for Liverpool, with further talks planned
An important update on the Liverpool job to start with, as Feyenoord manager Arne Slot is now a strong candidate for the job of replacing Jurgen Klopp this summer. He’s considered already an excellent manager with a very good style, but also with potential to make special things also at the highest level possible in the Premier League.
Some outlets have claimed that Slot has also been on the radar of Barcelona and Bayern Munich as they could also be appointing new managers this summer, but I’m only aware of contacts with Liverpool so far. Let’s see if other clubs enter the race, but Liverpool are there for sure.
Liverpool have made direct contact with Slot. You may remember one year ago that he was also targeted by Tottenham, but there was no agreement and so Spurs decided to go for Ange Postecoglou. Slot is now on Liverpool’s list, there have been direct contacts, and I’m told there is another meeting scheduled for further discussions. Feyenoord also want to keep him, but let’s see what happens because Liverpool are there.
As for Ruben Amorim, some reports recently suggested that everything was verbally agreed between the Sporting Lisbon manager and Liverpool, but I’m told that this was never the case. Amorim had talks with Liverpool, but it’s not true that he ever had an agreement with Liverpool, and now that particular deal looks difficult and unlikely because the situation has been total stand-by for about a week. There have been no fresh contacts.
However, Amorim was in London this week with his agent for a meeting with West Ham. Despite these conversations, my understanding for now is that Amorim to West Ham will not happen – there is no agreement and it looks really unlikely. Amorim is keeping all his options open, so he remains one to watch with other jobs because he’s still available and open to possibilities, even though Sporting obviously hope to keep him at the club.
Unai Emery was never close to Bayern, with Ralf Rangnick now the leading candidate
Another manager saga that never really took off is with Unai Emery, who is not going anywhere as he’s signed a new contract with Aston Villa. He was never close to the Bayern Munich job because he’s always been 100% committed and focused on Villa.
Emery has a fantastic relationship with key figures at the club, and the structure at the club is built around people he knows very well, so he’s feeling good there and he’s signed a one-year contract extension – the previous deal was valid until 2026, but he’s now committed to the club until 2027.
Villa trust Emery and are prepared to do important things on the market to back their manager, so they’re fully behind him and his ideas, and it looks like an exciting time to be a Villa fan, because they’ve been excellent this season and it still looks like they can achieve even more.
So Emery won’t be going to Bayern, who we know were dreaming of hiring Xabi Alonso before he committed his future to Bayer Leverkusen. We also know they wanted Julian Nagelsmann, but he’s decided to stay on as Germany manager. I always told you that three candidates were there recently – Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, and Roberto de Zerbi. At the moment De Zerbi is not the strongest candidate, but Rangnick is there and has been informed of Bayern’s interest. He is open to discussions with Bayern, but it will be about the project and how much influence he can have, these details will be crucial.
The truth about Man United links with Thomas Tuchel and Brian Brobbey
We’re waiting for Manchester United to decide the future of Erik ten Hag at the end of the season – this is going to be one to watch for sure. Still, despite rumours about Ten Hag’s future and about Thomas Tuchel possibly being the club’s preferred replacement, I’m not aware of anything else with other managers now.
There’s nothing with Tuchel yet, so far. There have also not been any contacts between Tuchel and Bayern to continue at the club and change his mind about leaving this summer; what happens in the next weeks I don’t know, but so far they haven’t discussed the possibility to change his mind and keep him.
Staying with Man United, we’re also seeing fresh rumours about Ajax striker Brian Brobbey, who is being linked with both United and Arsenal. My understanding, however, is that there is nothing concrete to this story so far. Brobbey has been linked with Man United since Ten Hag joined as manager, while I’m not aware of anything else with Arsenal at this stage.
Ajax will discuss Brobbey’s future in the summer but, again, we need to see who they pick as their new manager and what kind of strategy they want to adopt.
In other news…
Marcus Thuram – I’m told that Marcus Thuram has a clause in his contract, but that it’s slightly different to the €95m figure that’s been reported. But I will be more clear about details as soon as I can. So far, the situation with the player is very quiet – Thuram loves being at Inter, Inter love Thuram too, so the situation is completely quiet there. Inter are planning with Thuram as a starter also for next season. He has really impressed me this season, playing as central striker in a 3-5-2 system wasn’t easy but he’s doing fantastic.
Bruno Guimaraes – We’ve had more stories about Bruno Guimaraes, this time being linked with Manchester City. Still, as mentioned in recent days, Bruno is being linked with every top club in the world at the moment – City, Arsenal, PSG, United, all the clubs… it’s normal that all these clubs like and follow Bruno but according to my sources, nothing is advanced or concrete so far. There are no discussions taking place now, it will take some days or weeks to understand more. No fresh changes.
Milan Skriniar – Despite reports, I’m not aware of any request from Milan Skriniar to leave Paris Saint-Germain so far. Of course Skriniar would like to play more and be a starter, but he’s returning from an injury and it was his first season at PSG, so it will take some time and it’s normal.