Wayne Rooney has claimed that Liverpool boss Arne Slot lacks the requisite aura to successfully lead the Anfield club, despite the Dutchman winning the Premier League title last season.
Slot’s status as Reds boss is under increasing scrutiny amid Liverpool’s pitiful attempt to defend their league crown – with the club languishing in sixth, 15 points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
The Dutchman is also not helped by the availability of a plethora of top class managers in the market, with fan-favourite Xabi Alonso out of work following his Real Madrid exit.
And Man United legend Rooney says that he has not been enamoured by Slot’s personality on the few occasions the pair have met face-to-face, in comparison to his predecessor Jurgen Klopp.
‘It’s strange isn’t it when you’re talking about Slot being on an audition to keep his job when he has obviously recently won the Premier League,’ he said on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet.
‘I have met him a couple of times, but I just don’t think, for Liverpool, he has that aura – and maybe that’s because Liverpool have just come off the back of Jurgen Klopp as manager – it’s difficult for anyone to do that but I just don’t think there is that aura about him.’
Wayne Rooney believes Arne Slot lacks the requisite aura to be Liverpool manager
Slot is under increasing scrutiny amid Liverpool’s dismal defence of their Premier League title
Rooney was also unequivocal in his verdict on what Slot must do to keep his job.
‘I have spoken to managers, and I know they can be difficult at times, but if he doesn’t get them top five in the Premier League, he will be gone, for sure. It’s crazy to say when he has just won the Premier League.’
The Man United legend attempted to pinpoint where it has gone wrong for Slot’s side this season, arguing that the loss of key personnel has significantly harmed the champions.
‘If you look at Liverpool last season to now, [Mohamed] Salah and [Virgil] van Dijk haven’t been their best. Then you’ve got Trent [Alexander-Arnold] who’s missing, [Andy] Robertson hasn’t played a lot of games, Luiz Díaz [left] and the [Diogo] Jota situation,’ he said.
‘Even Darwin Nunez brought something, he wasn’t great, but he brought something. Liverpool have lost a lot of players so it sorts of a rebuild period [for them].’
Rooney also launched a surprise defence of captain Virgil van Dijk, with the pair locking horns earlier this season after the Dutchman took issue with his criticism.
‘With Liverpool and what has happened since last season, van Dijk and [Mohamed] Salah – which I have been vocal about this season – may have lost a yard or two, and they are the two leaders of the team. The players they have lost around them would make it very difficult for any side to win the title.
‘That should not count against van Dijk and Salah. For me, Salah is one of the Premier League’s greatest of all time, and van Dijk will be in the conversation as one of the best.
‘I don’t think he is the best ever, but in this generation, he is certainly the best centre-back, so you cannot hold that against those two players.’
