It may surprise Liverpool fans to know that Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards were not exclusively considering younger candidates to succeed Jurgen Klopp.
In fact, two options with a combined age of 125 were considered quite serious avenues to potentially replace the German tactician.
Luciano Spalletti, 65, and Ernesto Valverde, 60, were understood to have found their way close to the top of the club’s shortlist.
“The claims of Ernesto Valverde, however, were regarded by Liverpool as much stronger. The 60-year-old was a leading contender, having won two league titles at Barcelona, three championships in Greece with Olympiacos and recently ended Athletic Bilbao’s 40-year-wait for a major trophy by winning the Copa del Rey last month,” James Pearce and Oliver Kay reported for The Athletic.
The reporters went on to add: “Luciano Spalletti, 65, was also of significant interest. Last season, he guided Napoli to their first Serie A title since 1990, but he had only been appointed to manage the Italy national team last August.”
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READ MORE: How much Liverpool are paying Feyenoord for Arne Slot’s services
Youth wins out at Liverpool
Arne Slot, 45, is far from being inexperienced by comparison.
The Feyenoord boss came close to guiding unlikely Eredivisie winners AZ Alkmaar to a league title – the pandemic, sadly, put a stop to any such hopes.
He’s since secured the title with the Rotterdam-based outfit, however, and has since added the KNVB Cup to the trophy cabinet in 2023/24.
Why appointing a younger manager was the wiser choice
“I’m running out of energy,” may very well be a phrase that haunts us to our dying days.
Given Jurgen Klopp’s very public comments, it might then have been seen as a particularly bold choice to bring a manager at least four years Jurgen’s senior (potentially nine).
With the greatest of respect to Spalletti and Valverde, could we guarantee a similar level of longevity in the role at such a starting point?
Again, we wish to reiterate our intention isn’t to disrespect two perfectly accomplished coaches in the game.
But we are reassured to see that a younger boss has won out in the recruitment department’s evaluations.