Arne Slot sparks ‘civil war’ at Liverpool as Anfield hero ‘fears’ sack is coming

Liverpool boss Arne Slot had a heated row with sporting director Richard Hughes over one player, a report has claimed, while an Anfield icon is worried the Dutchman could soon be sacked.

Slot did brilliantly during his debut season at Liverpool, using the Jurgen Klopp blueprint to guide the Reds to the Premier League title. This saw Liverpool back Slot with over £440million of spending last summer, as they broke their transfer record on Florian Wirtz and then Alexander Isak.

Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giovanni Leoni all arrived on Merseyside too, but Liverpool’s title defence has not gone to plan.

Slot’s men sit in fourth place, 14 points behind leaders Arsenal. Liverpool are also at risk of being caught by the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United.

Liverpool had a torrid run between September 27 and December 9, losing nine out of 16 matches across all competitions and winning just five times.

A run of four straight victories has been followed by draws with Leeds United and Fulham, piling more pressure on Slot.

According to Anfield Watch, tensions between Slot and Hughes were extremely high last summer as they disagreed over young winger Rio Ngumoha.

It is claimed that after the sale of Luis Diaz, Slot wanted to loan out Ngumoha and sign an elite new winger such as Bradley Barcola.

Hughes, however, told Slot ‘he would have to play Ngumoha and give him regular first-team opportunities’.

There was a ‘massive clash’ between Slot and Hughes, creating a ‘civil war’ at Anfield.

The relationship between the pair has generally been viewed as positive, but if this report is to be believed, then Hughes would have fewer issues with sacking Slot than previously thought.

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has told the Echo he ‘fears’ for Slot after Manchester United sacked Ruben Amorim.

Aldridge wrote in his latest column: ‘Teams around us are slipping up. It’s just as well. We’re fourth but after these draws against Leeds and Fulham, it could have been a lot worse if others had got their own points on the board.

‘But you look around and they’re changing managers. Chelsea sacked [Enzo] Maresca. United have sacked Amorim. They both know how important it is to get in the top four.

‘They’re doing it now rather than later to have a go at getting in the top four. They are making the change before it is too late. We should be wary of both of them.

‘The owners have kept faith with Arne despite our difficult season. But if we hadn’t won the league last year, it might have been different for him. He might have lost his job too.

‘There were a lot of changes in the summer. On social media, it’s all about the predictability, the lack of pace, we’re too easy to play against. It’s not an attractive style of football to watch and every game is a grind.

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‘We’re not United… but Arne is not daft’ – Aldridge

‘We’re waiting for something to change and so far it’s not happened. Hopefully something will click but it doesn’t look like anything will change drastically either.

‘We’re not a club who sack managers easily. We don’t do that, we’re not United. But Arne is not daft. If he doesn’t deliver, that’s the way the game is. He knows it, we all know it.’

When asked about his side lacking identity, Slot said recently: “Yes, I would love us to create more from ball possession.

“I can tell you this, my philosophy of football hasn’t changed this year compared to all the seasons I was a manager before, but we have to do it with the players that we have available.

“And I think today, 11 very good football players were on the pitch, maybe not all of them in their normal position, but in the first half, they controlled the game.

“Just before they scored, we had exactly the same chance from Cody Gakpo, which went on the other side of the post.

“And in the second half, two disallowed goals, two goals scored, a header on the bar. So things to like, but the result is, again, not what we may deserve, question mark.”

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