Arne Slot future: Why sacking the Premier League-winning manager and bringing in Xabi Alonso could be best for Liverpool

Premier League champions Liverpool have failed to defend their top-flight crown in 2025-26, and their chances of collecting silverware this term are growing slimmer by the week.

Arne Slot's Reds have endured a difficult season for a variety of reasons, but when they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the FA Cup on Saturday in a humiliating 4-0 thrashing against Manchester City, morale hit a new low.

Fans of the Merseysiders - known for their unwavering support - left the Etihad Stadium in droves around the hour mark, chanting on their way out of the ground for Xabi Alonso to replace the former Feyenoord boss.

To make matters worse, the Citizens' home crowd belted out a chorus of "You're getting sacked in the morning," leaving the manager nowhere to hide.

As the situation grows increasingly tense, Sports Mole takes a look at the reasons why replacing Slot now could be in the best interests of Liverpool.

Champions League qualification is at risk under Arne Slot

The most pressing concern facing the Premier League champions at the moment is that their place in next season's Champions League is far from secure.

Liverpool parted ways with a record-breaking £446.5m in the summer of 2025, and ahead of what looks to be another busy transfer window at the end of this term, a loss in revenue from missing out on UEFA's premier club competition would be a major blow.

Financial implications aside, the Reds already face the near-impossible task of replacing one of the club's greatest ever goalscorers - Mohamed Salah - at the close of the campaign, but attracting the level of talent required to bolster the frontline at Anfield would grow increasingly challenging without Champions League football.

The Merseysiders are synonymous with the competition in England, having lifted the famous trophy six times, but wingers such as RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande could opt to join rivals such as Bayern Munich if qualification is not achieved, while more optimistic targets including the Bavarians' Michael Olise would be beyond the club's reach.

Liverpool's problems are inherent to Arne Slot's style

When Slot was brought in ahead of the 2024-25 season, much praise was heaped upon the manager's ability to keep a smaller squad of players fit throughout a lengthy campaign, but this approach has struggled in England.

Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool were known for their intensity and ability to overwhelm opponents with their running power, but Slot has taken a more reserved angle when it comes to pressing.

For example, the German boss would frequently 'over train' his squad with particularly tough fitness sessions, in order to make the requirements on matchdays seem less demanding in comparison.

This enabled the likes of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Salah to consistently cover staggering distances and maintain superior fitness for longer in matches, allowing the team to take advantage when opponents became fatigued late on in games.

By contrast, Slot's method involves an enhanced focus on rest and recovery in training, avoiding the extreme workouts that his predecessor employed. In fact, the manager has often referenced in the past how few of his stars trained in full before a game.

The idea behind this is that the 90 minutes of a match become the most physically intensive part of the process, and that players will be able to give a higher proportion of their energy during the moments in which points are available as a result.

In theory, this approach could lead to better longevity for the Reds' stars, but in practice, it has led to Liverpool being outrun in 27 of their 31 Premier League games so far in 2025-26.

Considering that this mode of maintenance is a key part of Slot's style, it is difficult to see a change occurring without replacing the head coach, and it is likely to take a new face in the dugout to restore the Merseysiders' identity.

Liverpool must avoid repeating Brendan Rodgers mistake with Arne Slot

Following Liverpool's impressive 2013-14 season - spearheaded by an unprecedented campaign from Luis Suarez - then-manger Brendan Rodgers struggled in 2014-15 after losing his star man to Barcelona.

That dire term culminated in missing out on Champions League football, not to mention the dire 6-1 final-day thrashing at the hands of Stoke City that saw Steven Gerrard score his last-ever Reds goal.

Reports suggested that Rodgers was under pressure in the aftermath of the season, but club owners Fenway Sports Group allowed the boss to persist into the start of the 2015-16 term, before eventually sacking him and appointing Klopp as his replacement in October.

The current situation at Anfield almost mirrors that scenario, with Liverpool having lifted the Premier League title thanks in large part to a record-breaking season from Salah, and going on to struggle just months later with the Egyptian talisman no longer producing the same output.

The Reds are once again at risk of missing out on Champions League qualification, and though Slot is under pressure, reports indicate that FSG are likely to keep the manager at least until the end of 2025-26.

Salah's departure makes it clear that Liverpool are at an inflection point, and allowing the current head coach to go through an entire pre-season with the squad - as well as guiding a transfer window that will shape the future of the club - before potentially sacking him in the opening stages of 2026-27 could be extremely damaging.

Therefore, if the Anfield hierarchy are considering dismissing Slot, it would be best to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, and do so at a time that will be the most beneficial to any incoming manager's start on Merseyside.