Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has said Arne Slot “could be a Liverpool coach” due to his playing style and philosophy.
Slot, who won the Eredivisie title in 2023 and the KNVB Cup last weekend, is the frontrunner to take charge of Liverpool next season.
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Speaking after the 2-0 defeat against Everton in the Merseyside derby, a loss that has left put a major dent in Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes, Van Dijk said that Slot has the credentials to replace Jürgen Klopp at Anfield.
“I find it difficult to answer it now, of course,” Van Dijk told Viaplay. “But I think Arne Slot might be one of the better Dutch coaches at this moment.
“I think the way he plays and the philosophy he has that he could be a Liverpool coach. Only in my opinion, what I also read and hear, of course, is that it is far from finalised.
“We will see. Next year we will focus on that.”
Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that Liverpool have opened talks with Feyenoord in an attempt to negotiate a deal for the club’s head coach Slot.
The 45-year-old has emerged as the leading contender for the Liverpool job following Xabi Alonso’s decision to remain at Bayer Leverkusen and a cooling in the Premier League club’s interest in Sporting CP coach Ruben Amorim.
Slot rejected approaches from Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur last year — Chelsea also expressed an interest in him — and chose instead to sign a new three-year contract with the Rotterdam team.
Van Dijk was also outspoken about the performance of his Liverpool teammates against Everton.
“Do they really want to win the league?” Van Dijk said. “If you play like this overall in the game and not win any challenges and give the referee an opportunity to give a free kick away then we have no chance to win the title.
“[I am] very disappointed in so many ways. Everyone has to look in the mirror and look at their own performance and think if they gave everything.
“It is a tough one and obviously we have to do better against a side near the relegation [positions]. If you play like today we have no chance to consider ourselves in the title race.”
