Incoming Liverpool boss Arne Slot looks poised to make an ironic first signing in the Anfield hot seat
(Image credit: NESimages/Geert van Erven/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Liverpool look set to make the first signing of the Arne Slot reign, with an ironic twist on the transfer.
The Feyenoord manager is set to assume the hot seat at Anfield at the end of the season, with outgoing boss Jurgen Klopp leaving after nine years. The move is yet to be confirmed but it is expected that there will be plenty of squad churn over the summer, with comings and goings on Merseyside.
But while there are plenty of stars known to Slot who have been linked with moves to Liverpool, his first signing could be well be one linked for months – and expected to join under very different circumstances.
Jurgen Klopp leaves Anfield this summer after nine years (Image credit: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
CaughtOffside notes that Sporting defender Goncalo Inacio looks bound for the Premier League, with the Merseysiders heading the queue over rivals Manchester United – and the 22-year-old is ”keen” on a move and ready to leave his home country.
Inacio has been rumoured to be on Liverpool's radar for a long time now but whispers intensified when his manager in Lisbon, Ruben Amorim, was heavily linked with the Liverpool job. It would certainly be a test if the centre-back were to make the move without Amorim, with the Portuguese boss losing one of his best players to a club he failed to get the job at.
In FourFourTwo's view, the links are well-placed given that Liverpool have been looking for a left-sided centre-back for a long time, now – but Inacio is no dead cert to leave the Primeira Liga.
Sporting defender Goncalo Inacio has been linked with Liverpool (Image credit: Getty Images)
With Liverpool likely needing to conduct big-money business this summer, the price will have to be right – and Sporting will drive a hard bargain with a big release likely for one of the most coveted defenders in Europe.
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Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
