Arne Slot has been vocal in his admiration of Pep Guardiola - but the Liverpool target could soon be wrestling against the Manchester City chief for the game's top honours

It's no secret that Arne Slot is an advocate of Pep Guardiola, but it seems the Dutchman will soon be pitting his wits against the Spaniard and his all-conquering Manchester City team.

Liverpool's search for a new manager has taken them to Holland and Feyenoord with Slot, 45, now the top target to replace Jurgen Klopp in the summer. Before a deal has even been signed off, the Dutchman has some pretty big shoes to fill.

Liverpool and City - like Klopp and Guardiola - have become each other's main adversaries in their pursuit of major honours over the past few years. Slot will pick up the mantle in that respect with Guardiola: somebody he not been shy to laud in the past.

Speaking to Dutch outlet Voetbal International back in May 2023, Slot said of Guardiola: “I certainly don't want to compare myself to Pep, but he is a control freak just like me. If I look at myself, I try to win a match in the week before it is played, by conveying the training, pre-match team talks and tactics to the players as perfectly as possible.”

Slot even went one further as he would go on to admit that watching Guardiola's teams was his "ultimate joy in football". He added: “There is no team in the world I would rather watch than Manchester City, followed by Napoli, Arsenal and Brighton.

"But City - and again it is not my intention to compare us with them - have a similar style of play to how we want to play with Feyenoord: 4-3-3, building up from the back, wanting to apply pressure quickly.”

Slot has built up an impressive body of work over the last three seasons at Feyenoord: he guided the club to their first Eredivisie title in six years last term and followed that up with more silverware in the form of the Dutch Cup last weekend.

However, Slot's suitability to take on such a significant role at a Premier League club expected to challenge the imperious Manchester City has been questioned by Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher.

Writing in The Telegraph on Friday, he said: "For the last nine years, Liverpool have possessed one of the top two managers in the world. They are now gambling on the next big thing rather than appointing a proven, real deal.

"I would have given more thorough consideration to a coach like Thomas Tuchel who took on and beat Pep Guardiola in the ultimate test - a Champions League final. Tuchel followed Klopp at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund and did well. It has not worked out at Bayern Munich this season, but you only have to look at Carlo Ancelotti and Unai Emery to recognise how top coaches recover from setbacks.

"If another English club takes Tuchel, that would convince me they will significantly improve, but my sense is Liverpool don’t want a coach with a reputation for being fractious.

"I would prefer a proven winner who could be difficult to manage to a coach who might be easy to manage but still have everything to prove.

"My overriding concern is this: does Slot move to England ready to take on Guardiola for the Premier League and Champions League? The new Liverpool manager must say from the outset he is here to win, not just compete."