"My choice would have been Xabi Alonso," Jamie Carragher said on CBS Sports when asked about Liverpool's impending appointment of Arne Slot as head coach.
"I don't think right now, we're in an era of managers of the past, big names. You think of [Jose] Mourinho, [Antonio] Conte, big names. Those managers aren't there.
"I think we're in an era now of up-and-coming managers. Ruben Amorim of Sporting CP and Arne Slot of Feyenoord were the two names [linked with Liverpool].
"Most Liverpool fans who go to the match wouldn't have really known who that man from Feyenoord [Slot] is. It's not like bringing in Rafa Benitez, like when I was there, or Jurgen Klopp - who people were aware of. But I think that's just the place we find ourselves in right now."
Slot was indeed an unexpected choice from Liverpool, even though we were warned that the new executive team would think out of the box.
The Dutchman does not arrive with the same pedigree as Jurgen Klopp did in 2015, although he too led his team to an unlikely league triumph, winning the Eredivisie with Feyenoord in 2022-23.
