‘Amateurish’ moment in Liverpool defeat piles pressure on Arne Slot as FSG shortlist FOUR replacements

Pressure is once again building on Arne Slot after Liverpool suffered a 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, and an ‘amateurish’ moment in the clash certainly hasn’t helped him, while the Reds’ hierarchy have identified potential replacements for the Dutchman.

The Cherries will feel they deserved to take all three points from the clash. They went 2-0 up through Evanilson and Alex Jimenez, before goals from Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai levelled the scoring. But a dramatic 95th-minute winner from Amine Adli meant it was a long trip back to Merseyside from the south coast for Slot and his team.

Liverpool are still fourth in the Premier League table, but their position is precarious. Manchester United, Chelsea, Brentford and Newcastle all have the chance to go above them if they win their respective matches today.

Jamie Redknapp highlighted one baffling moment in the first half of the Bournemouth loss.

With the score at 1-0 to Bournemouth, Liverpool had just 10 men on the pitch as Joe Gomez was injured. Slot shouted at his team to kick the ball out of play, but they didn’t listen, and the Cherries notched a second. Slot was visibly furious.

“You get seven minutes to make the sub. I have no idea why they didn’t make the change. Could Alisson kick it out play just to make the sub?” Redknapp said at half time.

“They get him on too late. Arne Slot wanted Alisson to kick it out of play but he doesn’t see it. It’s amateurish.”

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Liverpool have ‘contingency plans’ in place

Many supporters have vented their frustrations on social media, with some calling for Slot to be relieved of his duties immediately.

But it’s important to note that Liverpool had been on a 12-game unbeaten run before losing to Bournemouth, and the Dutchman rightly has credit in the bank after leading his team to the Premier League title last season.

As our insider, Fraser Fletcher, reported earlier this month, Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) continue to back Slot, but they have ‘contingency plans’ in place in case he fails to meet the club’s targets.

Failure to qualify for the Champions League this season would raise serious questions, and with the league table so close there is of course a risk of that happening.

With this in mind, sources have confirmed that Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner, Marseille’s Roberto de Zerbi, Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Porto’s Francesco Farioli are all on the radar of the Liverpool hierarchy.

The Reds continue to back Slot, but the questions won’t be going away unless his team can bounce back quicky. They will face Qarabag in the Champions League on Wednesday – a game Liverpool will be expected to win – before a tougher test against Newcastle in the Prem next weekend.

Latest Liverpool news: ‘€100m’ Real Madrid raid / Robertson replacement

Meanwhile, a shock report from Spain has claimed that Liverpool are preparing a ‘€100m (£86.7m) offer’ for Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.

It is claimed that Liverpool’s ‘search for a dominant midfielder is a priority’ and it has led to them focusing on Tchouameni again, a player they targeted back in 2022.

In other news, my colleague, Graeme Bailey, has reported that Liverpool have reignited their interest in Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson.

The Reds are considering a move for Robinson to potentially replace Andy Robertson, who is expected to join Tottenham imminently.

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