Arne Slot future: Liverpool should hire "best" manager in the world as Xabi Alonso to Chelsea leaves FSG with major sack call

Liverpool should do all they can to bring Luis Enrique to Anfield if they sack Arne Slot, former Red Stephen Warnock has exclusively told Sports Mole.

Following the team's latest Premier League defeat against Aston Villa on Friday, many fans have called on the Merseysiders to replace embattled boss Slot, though the managerial market appears to have thinned.

Xabi Alonso has become become Chelsea head coach, and that will come as a blow to Liverpool fans, who had eyed the Spaniard as the natural successor to Slot.

Speaking to Sports Mole via BetWright, one of the UK's best betting sites, Warnock argued that Paris Saint-Germain boss Enrique is the best possible candidate to hire, saying: "There's another candidate, whether he'd go or not and whether they'd be able to get him is a completely different story.

"I'd go all in on Luis Enrique because he's the best manager in world football. I think his personality would suit Liverpool. He's obviously been to Anfield before, he's been on the Kop, he's already taken in the atmosphere.

"If he was to leave, my replacement would be Luis Enrique. Liverpool football club have to go for the best and he is the best."

The PSG boss won the Champions League last season, and he has the opportunity to win it for a second consecutive campaign on May 30, when his side take on Arsenal in the final.

Luis Enrique to Liverpool: A better style of play than Arne Slot?

While Enrique has has access to a vast array of resources, he deserves credit for assembling a team of immense technical quality that is capable of breaking down the strongest of defences.

Liverpool have often looked passive without the ball under Slot, while their ability to create in the final third has been poor, a key reason for the growing disconnect between the manager and the Anfield faithful.

Warnock insisted that fans would enjoy the football played under Enrique, telling Sports Mole: "I don't like managers to lose their jobs, but it's true that Enrique's style of football would be exactly what Liverpool would need and would enjoy.

"The Liverpool fanbase are really not happy at all with how they play, and there were boos at the end of the game against Chelsea. There really is an element where it's split in the fanbase."

PSG managed to beat Liverpool 4-0 on aggregate in their quarter-final tie this season, though the French side created enough to win by a considerably bigger margin, and the difference between the two clubs was stark across the two legs.

Will Liverpool sack Arne Slot because of Anfield boos?

While reports have indicated that Liverpool will stick with Slot heading into the 2026-27 campaign, failure to remove the head coach would be an unpopular decision.

The Dutchman will only have one year left on his contract at the end of 2025-26, but many supporters are fearful of another catastrophic campaign next term.

Warnock acknowledged the tension between Slot and fans, and expressed his view that that relationship may be beyond repair, when he told Sports Mole: "You'd hope that he'd be given the opportunity to turn things around, but it's got to a point now that it is very uncomfortable.

"There's an element where some fans don't want to boo because it's not what Liverpool fans - and I have to say Manchester United fans - do. They don't boo their managers.

"Usually, they are supported until the end. However, I think it's got to a position now where it's going to be very difficult to turn that fan group around."

Should Liverpool fail to secure Champions League football against Brentford on May 24, perhaps owners Fenway Sports Group will be forced to reconsider their stance on Slot, though they could make a change once they complete their season review.

Stephen Warnock was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of BetWright, who provide Premier League Odds.