Arne Slot changing his mind on Steven Gerrard speaks volumes after Jurgen Klopp comment

Arne Slot looks to have settled in perfectly, but the new Liverpool boss still followed the same example set by Jurgen Klopp when he was asked about Steven Gerrard

Liverpool boss Arne Slot made the same Steven Gerrard U-Turn as Jurgen Klopp.

Slot, 46, looks to have already won over the Anfield faithful by winning nine of his first ten matches in all competitions. One of the Dutchman's latest tests saw him posed with the same question Klopp received when he was in charge of the Merseysiders.

He was asked to name the one player he wished he was able to manage over the course of his managerial career. After admitting that the player he once wanted to coach most was Andres Iniesta, Slot did the kind of U-turn that would make him popular at Anfield.

He confidently named Gerrard as the one player he wished to coach. When he was in the Liverpool hot seat, Klopp did the exact same thing.

Slot told Amazon Prime Video: "If you had asked me this a year ago, I would have probably said Iniesta, but I think now I am going to go for Steven Gerrard, being the Liverpool manager.

“Why he might deserve to be in my team is that the other ones, like Iniesta and like Zinedine Zidane, they played with incredible teammates, and, of course, Steven Gerrard played with good to really good teammates.

“But I don’t think he played with the same level of players that Iniesta or Zidane played with. And then still being so special for the club, winning, lifting the trophy once, playing for so long for this club.”

Slot's answer suggests he was trying to curry favour with his new fan-base. He may have also been aware of Klopp's answer to that question.

The German said: "Stevie and me together in the roles. He as the man on the pitch and me as a coach that would have been nice. So it's Stevie.

“Six years ago it would have been a different answer but now I'm here and I know him as a person and as a player so that's now an easy answer."

While Slot appeared to admit that he put Gerrard at the top of his list because of the ex-England international's status at the club, Klopp appeared to suggest that he wanted to work with the former Reds' captain after getting to know him.

Whatever the case may be, Liverpool fans have plenty of reason to be happy with the former Feyenoord manager. They are top of the Premier League having won all but one match and are currently on course to finish in the top eight of the Champions League table.

Slot's first European matches as Liverpool boss saw his side overcome AC Milan at the San Siro 3-1 before a routine 2-0 home victory over Bologna. The new Liverpool boss has a busy week to look forward to after the international break, as his side travel host Chelsea at Anfield in the Premier League before visiting RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

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