LIVERPOOL could ask Jurgen Klopp to make a dramatic return if they sack Arne Slot.
Fan favourite Klopp, 58, who was replaced by Slot in the summer of 2024, has emerged as a stunning candidate if Anfield chiefs finally lose patience with his successor.
If they approach Klopp, now Global Head of Soccer for Red Bull, it is likely he would only be asked to fill in until the end of the season.
That is because the owners have Paris Saint-Germain’s Luis Enrique in their sights as a long-term target.
Slot insists he still has the backing of American owners Fenway Sports — despite a horror run of nine defeats in 12 games that has put him under huge pressure.
The Dutchman says talks with his bosses have been taking place all the way through the nightmare spell that got worse on Wednesday with a 4-1 Champions League humbling at home to PSV Eindhoven.
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But he said: “They are the same conversations we’ve had since I’m here — the same as over the last 1½ years.”
Yet SunSport understands conversations have also taken place among Liverpool executives worried that he is losing the dressing room.
After Slot’s record £426MILLION summer splurge on players, his side have gone from champs to chumps.
The board has been forced to prepare for the worst — with Klopp, who ended their 30-year wait for a league title in 2020, part of the conversation.
In the wake of the defeat by PSV that completed Liverpool’s worst run since 1953-54, Slot added: “It would be nice to turn it around and get a victory.
“But if you are working as a coach and not doing well then it is normal that questions are asked.
“If you lose so many times, people start talking about that. I have got a lot of support from above. I am OK with my position.
“They don’t call every single minute of the day to say they trust me, but in the normal conversations we have, I feel the trust.”
The board have been prepared to wait until the new year to see if Slot can turn things around.
Yet another defeat at West Ham on Sunday would not only put more pressure on Slot but also on FSG to act, with Reds fans booing at the final whistle on Wednesday.
Liverpool’s last 12 games
Crystal Palace 2-1 Liverpool
Galatasaray 1-0 Liverpool
Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool
Liverpool 1-2 Man Utd
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-5 Liverpool
Brentford 3-2 Liverpool
Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace
Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool
Liverpool 0-3 Nottingham Forest
Liverpool 1-4 PSV
There are also growing fears within the money-conscious Americans that after the huge outlay on players, including £130m signing Alexander Isak, any Champions League challenge could soon dissolve.
They still have tough trips to Inter Milan and Marseille coming up and failure to make it into next season’s Champions League would bring a financial hit of at least £53m.
Slot, 47, added: “I do agree that our standards are not what we are used to.
“But we are taking knock after knock and it seems like every time we make even a small mistake we concede a goal.
“I don’t see it being low when we start the game or after we go one down.
“But after the fourth or fifth knock I saw it to be different, and after they scored at 3-1 it hurt the players, and then that wasn’t the spirit I want to see.
“The minimum I expect is we fight.”
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