Liverpool have been advised to sack Premier League title-winning manager Arne Slot and hire a ‘perfect’ former Chelsea boss as his substitute.
Slot guided Liverpool to Premier League glory lower than 12 months ago but is now facing a battle to avoid the sack.
Liverpool’s defence of their crown never got going, with the Reds unable to maintain up with the pace set by title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City.
Not only have Liverpool did not defend their Premier League title but they’ve, at times this season, been at significant risk of not even qualifying for the Champions League next term.
Victories of their previous two league outings have eased those concerns, with the Reds five points ahead of Brighton in sixth place with a game in hand, but their likely Champions League qualification cannot mask what has been a hugely disappointing season at Anfield.
Liverpool could look to depart with Slot this summer and World Cup winner Marco Materazzi has named ex-Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca because the ‘perfect’ substitute.
Maresca led Chelsea to a fourth-place finish within the Premier League and to the Conference League title in his one and only full season at Stamford Bridge.
The Italian, who has long been earmarked as a possible substitute for his mentor Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, left Chelsea in January just a number of months after winning the Club World Cup in the summertime.
Discussing the clubs Maresca could join as he looks to return to management, Materazzi told Hajper: ‘Can Enzo Maresca make Real Madrid into champions again? Yes, why not!
‘He speaks excellent Spanish because he was at Sevilla, but I feel Maresca also has opportunity to get a job within the Premier League for next season too.
‘Newcastle United? Not for me. Manchester United can be move for Maresca but he’s too connected to Manchester City to make that occur.
‘I feel Liverpool can be the perfect fit for Enzo Maresca. He’s the proper coach to guide a rebuild at Liverpool to create a brand new vision for the team.’
Speaking on Sky Sports the day after the Merseyside derby win over Everton, former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher said the ‘noises’ he was hearing were positive over Slot’s future, despite the club’s difficult campaign.
‘Arne Slot’s job has been spoken about all season. We’ve spoken about it lots on Monday Night Football,’ Carragher explained.
Should Liverpool sack Slot?
Yes – his time is up
No – give him one other season
‘There’s probably a split within the Liverpool supporters over whether he should stay or go, however the noises I’m hearing is Slot will likely be the Liverpool manager next season in the event that they can secure Champions League qualification, which they give the impression of being like doing straight away.’
Liverpool will look to tighten their grip on the Champions League places once they host Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
The club’s failings in cup competitions this season means Slot’s men are in a position to focus exclusively on their five remaining league games.
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