Liverpool have announced Arne Slot will be their new manager.
Slot, 45, will take over in the hot seat on Merseyside after Jurgen Klopp announced he was stepping down in January. Klopp was reduced to tears as he waved goodbye to Anfield for one final time over the weekend - after a 2-0 win against Wolves.
And the 56-year-old Premier League and Champions League winner even paved the way for his successor, by leading the Kop in a chant for Slot, whose arrival from Feyenoord has been expected for several weeks. The Dutchman had already confirmed he would be taking over at the Reds, after a compensation package in the region of £9.4m was agreed with the Eredivisie outfit.
In an official statement, the Merseyside club said: "Liverpool Football Club can announce Arne Slot has agreed a deal to become the club’s new head coach, formally taking up the position on June 1, 2024, subject to a work permit.
"The 45-year-old will join the Reds from Feyenoord ahead of the 2024-25 season after a deal was reached with the Eredivisie club for his services."
Slot is understood to have agreed a three-year deal, which ties him to Anfield until June 2027. In a press conference at the weekend, he said: "I can confirm that I will become the trainer there next year.
"Until now I was not thinking about this being the build-up to my last match, but that starts coming now. At the beginning of the week you are thinking about training and those kind of things. But the feeling gets stronger now.
"That is why I'm a little bit late now [for the news conference], because I wanted to say goodbye to some people personally and take time for them, more than just shaking hands.
"So yeah, the feeling grows. I understand that good results help, but it is very nice to feel that people really are thinking it's a pity that I'm leaving. You can say that with words, but you can feel it if people truly think that way. That does mean a lot to me."
Slot is highly regarded in his native Netherlands - where after numerous roles as a youth coach and an assistant, Slot received his first top job with AZ Alkmaar in 2019. He came close to an improbable title triumph with the Dutch minnows in his first season - in March 2020 they were level on points with Ajax in the Eredivisie and second only on goal difference, but the season was abandoned and cancelled due to the pandemic.
He left Alkmaar midway through the following season, when he was sacked following speculation he was set to join Feyenoord. He took up the reins in Rotterdam in the summer of 2021 and proved a revelation, restoring the once faltering side to their former glory.
Slot took them to the Europa Conference League final, missing out on gold to Jose Mourinho's Roma, and finished third in the Eredivisie in his first season. The next year he won the league title, Feyenoord's first since 2017, and then claimed the KNVB Cup earlier this year, before finishing second behind PSV Eindhoven in the league.
During his playing career, he operated primarily as a midfielder, turning out for FC Zwolle, NAC Breda, Sparta Rotterdam and PEC Zwolle before hanging up his boots in 2013.
Klopp urged fans to get behind the Dutchman when he addressed Anfield on Sunday. He said: "If you give a s*** about what I want you to sing, actually, I have an idea. I heard the song today a few times and you can do that, I am fine with that but let's now see what the response will be to this. Arne Slot! La la la la. Arne Slot! La la la.
"Now imagine it next season where you are not waiting to see how it starts, no, you run into it and with a new manager you go all in. And you keep believing, which is what you do, you can push the team. Get on your toes before we score, I say we because I am one of you now. I love you to bits."
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