Liverpool will be linked with various Feyenoord players this summer. It is a transfer news pipeline as old as football itself.
Having appointed Arne Slot as their new head coach, the Reds will inevitably be said to be interested in his former players.
As he guided Feyenoord to an Eredivisie title, a KNVB cup, the Europa Conference League final and the highest points total in the history of the club, Slot could be forgiven for wanting to work with men who helped him reach those heights, and by extension, the Liverpool job.
The player being most strongly linked with a move to Anfield is Lutsharel Geertruida, the defender who was among Reds supporters for the side’s 2-2 draw at West Ham in April.
Yet it has been reported in Mirror Sport that Slot is “reluctant” to make the 23-year-old his first signing, in part thanks to events at Manchester United.
It’s claimed that Slot doesn’t want to make a Dutchman his first signing, having seen Ten Hag receive criticism after making a number of signings from the Eredivisie. Tottenham is now said to be in pole position for Geertruida’s signing.
Signing players with whom he has previously worked has certainly been a theme of Ten Hag’s time in English football, with mixed results. Lisandro Martínez has performed well when fit to play, the jury is out on André Onana and the less said about Sofyan Amrabat and (especially) Antony the better.
According to Transfermarkt, Ten Hag has worked with 12 players at more than one club in his managerial career, though the picture is muddied slightly by Donny van de Beek moving to United before he did. Even so, Jürgen Klopp has only had seven men play for him at more than one club in his far longer career.
None of them represented Liverpool either, with the septet all featuring for Klopp at Borussia Dortmund and Mainz. Neven Subotic is by far the best known of them to fans beyond the Bundesliga and only three of the players got at least 120 games under the former Reds boss when Ten Hag has five in that appearance bracket.
Slot currently has four players who have worked under him at two clubs. Geertruida might be his most used player, with 127 appearances, but they have all occurred at Feyenoord. If Slot follows Klopp’s career pattern rather than Ten Hag’s, it is likely to stay that way.
