Arne Slot lasted two seasons. Won the league in his first, got sacked before the second one’s dust had settled. Liverpool finished fifth in 2025-26. A year after winning the thing. Everything fell apart fast. Slot’s gone. Konate’s leaving on a free. Juventus want Alisson. Half the squad’s packing for the World Cup while the club hunts for a new manager. Liverpool drop into the Europa League next season, and europa league betting markets already have them priced as one of the favourites to win it.

Why Slot Got the Sack

Fifth doesn’t look catastrophic on paper. Then you look at what Liverpool spent. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, and Jeremie Frimpong. FSG backed Slot heavily and got almost nothing back. PSG dismantled them 4-0 in the Champions League. FA Cup gone in the quarters. EFL Cup out in the fourth round.

Dressing-room problems started leaking around February. Slot and Salah weren’t getting on, and you could see it on the pitch too. The pressing system that won the title barely troubled anyone by March. Full-backs getting caught high, midfield too slow to recover. Games slipping away in the final twenty minutes. It kept happening and nobody could stop it.

Iraola Is the Frontrunner

David Ornstein at The Athletic says Andoni Iraola is the leading candidate. The timing works. He’d already told Bournemouth he was leaving, so there’s no compensation fight.

His Bournemouth record is why Liverpool want him. Lost his starting centre-back pair to PSG and Real Madrid in the summer. Lost Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City in January. Then went 17 league games unbeaten. Finished three points behind Liverpool with a fraction of the budget. Put him at Anfield with Wirtz and Isak and try not to get excited about that.

This appointment moves Liverpool’s Europa League odds too. Iraola’s style would shorten them. A more defensive pick and the price drifts. Early markets already have Liverpool in the top three contenders.

The Alonso Question

Xabi Alonso’s name comes up with Liverpool every few years and it never quite happens. He was linked to the job before Slot got it in 2024. Went to Real Madrid instead. Got fired after six months. A year ago he looked like the hottest coaching prospect alive, unbeaten domestic double at Leverkusen; everyone wanted him. Now he’s out of work and carrying baggage from a brutal spell at the Bernabéu.

The heart says yes. Kop legend, knows the club, understands what Liverpool means. You can already picture the reception at Anfield. But FSG have to look at the Real Madrid stint and ask a hard question. Was that just a bad fit, wrong dressing room, too many egos? Or did it show something about how he handles pressure at the very top? Nobody outside that dressing room knows for sure.

What Comes Next at Anfield

Whoever walks in next is inheriting a broken defence and a stacked attack. Strange combination. Konate’s contract runs out June 30. He’s gone. Chelsea, Bayern, and Inter all want him. Alisson might follow if Juventus push hard enough.

But the squad’s got quality if someone can organise it properly. Wirtz had a rough first year but he’s 23 and showed flashes after Christmas that reminded you why Liverpool paid what they did. Isak scored 19 league goals. Midfield’s deep even if nobody found the right combination last season. It’s a Europa League campaign instead of Champions League, and that stings. But fewer midweek trips to face PSG and Real Madrid? For someone trying to rebuild this squad on the training pitch, that might not be the worst thing.