It was little more than a week ago that Ruben Amorim appeared to be in pole position to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, but as we now know, the plot has proceeded in a different direction.
Instead, it seems only a matter of time before Arne Slot is officially confirmed as our next head coach, although Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Anfield chiefs had spoken to the Sporting Lisbon boss, in whom there was a degree of interest.
In his Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside on Tuesday morning, the Italian outlined: “At one point, it looked like Ruben Amorim was the frontrunner for the Liverpool job, but it was never a done deal, never something agreed.
“Liverpool spoke to Amorim’s camp, they had contact as Liverpool were informed of release clauses and details of his contract at Sporting, but he was just one of the candidates, never a done deal, never a verbal agreement, never the chosen one. It was a conversation and there was interest, that’s it.”
As revealed by Melissa Reddy to Sky Sports in recent days, Amorim had ticked some of the criteria that Liverpool chiefs were seeking in their next manager, but fundamental differences over his ‘playing philosophy’ and ‘long-term’ vision ultimately saw him fade out of contention.
The 39-year-old felt compelled to issue a public apology for a recent trip to London to speak with West Ham over potentially replacing David Moyes, admitting that it was a ‘mistake’ to do so with Sporting on the verge of lifting the Primeira Liga title (GOAL).
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One thing we know for sure about Michael Edwards is that he’s meticulous and objective when it comes to recruitment of personnel, and that’s bound to be even more the case when it involves such a pivotal decision in appointing a successor to a legendary figure in Klopp.
It’s become apparent in recent days that, for all of Amorim’s plus points, the Liverpool hierarchy are convinced that Slot represents the best option for the club at this moment in time.
Maybe the Sporting boss will get his wish of working in the Premier League further down the line, but Edwards’ enormous previous success at Anfield has earned him the right to have his judgement trusted.