Liverpool are in danger of missing out on Champions League qualification after an uninspired 1-1 draw with Chelsea, as pressure mounts on manager Arne Slot
Liverpool will face Aston Villa on Friday evening with Arne Slot desperately needing three points to help guarantee a place in next season’s Champions League.
The Reds squandered their opportunity to move closer to a top-five finish with a lacklustre 1-1 stalemate against Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday. The tedious deadlock not only left Liverpool’s hopes of securing next season’s Champions League in some doubt but also heaped additional pressure on Slot. Thunderous boos echoed around Anfield at the final whistle as supporters expressed their fury and frustration at a campaign that’s witnessed the Reds suffer 11 defeats in the Premier League alone.
While Slot seems to retain the backing of Liverpool’s hierarchy for the time being, today’s developments see one ex-Premier League frontman put forward a potential candidate who could step in should the Dutchman be dismissed. Meanwhile, a former Liverpool legend has voiced his support for two of the Reds’ summer acquisitions. Here’s all the latest news from Anfield.
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Slot successor tipped
Andoni Iraola has been suggested as a possible contender for the Liverpool position should Slot get the boot this summer, reports the Mirror.
The Bournemouth manager, 43, is set to stand down from his position at the Vitality Stadium at the season’s end, with the Cherries well-placed to clinch a European berth this term.
Slot’s next manager sacked odds have tumbled from 50/1 to 11/8 in the past few weeks. And former Chelsea and Republic of Ireland striker Tony Cascarino believes the Reds could make a change.
He said: “The booings are happening more regularly at Liverpool now. I want Arne Slot to get to the end of the season and then Liverpool to make a call. I’m concerned because it’s not good.
“He’s [Iraola] probably been offered something that’s better. It’s like when you’re a player. If you play brilliantly for a club at Bournemouth, like [Antoine] Semenyo or others, you get the vultures circling over you and whisk you away to the bigger clubs. I’m sure he knows where he’s going.”
“We’ve got Marco Silva in that position [at Fulham]. We don’t quite know what the outcome is going to be. Obviously, Oliver Glasner as well at Crystal Palace. Don’t tell me these guys don’t know where they’re going.
“Jurgen Klopp, that announcement, when it came out he was leaving Liverpool. That was made in the November. It was kept under wraps for four months before it came out. Seemingly no one knew. There obviously were a handful of people. But it’s no different.”
Cascarino also discussed Iraola’s relationship with Liverpool’s sporting director Richard Hughes. He continued: “He brought him to Bournemouth and now he’s at Liverpool. He did that negotiation. He was there. You have connections in football and people you deal with.”
“He’d have dealt with the agent. He’d have worked with him. Now, I’m putting two and two and making five, but it’s not that unlikely that a club like Liverpool could look at him. He’s done an incredible job at Bournemouth.”
Liverpool duo receive transfer ultimatum
Ex-Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole says he would keep faith with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez for now – but warned the pair must improve.
While Kerkez, 22, has kicked on in the second half of the season, the £40m signing from Bournemouth has struggled to win over sections of support at Anfield.
Frimpong, signed from Bayer Leverkusen last summer for £29.5m, has also come in for criticism. However, his progress this season has been hampered by a series of injuries.
Cole believes Liverpool should stick with the full-back duo, noting how hard it could be to replace them. But he claimed should they fail to convince next season, then there could be a decision to be made.
The former Chelsea star said: “Two great players, two legends of the club in Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and [Andy] Robertson leaving the club in the space of two years is always going to be difficult to replace.”
“They need to give a chance to [Jeremie] Frimpong and [Milos] Kerkez, but it’s one of those where by January they’re not looking like they’ve settled still, then you have to start looking [at replacements].
“When you’re looking at players you can pick up, there’s so many great players in that position but there’s a select few in teams that are falling off or teams where the player might want out.
“For instance, Chelsea. You look at Marc Cucurella. He’s just one player who may want to move. I’d stick with Frimpong and Kerkez going into next season though.”