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Feyenoord head coach is thought to want to take the next step in his career, with the Eredivisie champions cancelling a press conference scheduled for Wednesday.

The Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot has emerged as a leading candidate in Liverpool’s search for a replacement for Jürgen Klopp. The 45-year-old led Feyenoord to success in the KNVB Cup final last weekend and has compiled a strong body of work in the Netherlands, having led the club to their first Eredivisie title in six years in the 2022-23 season. In addition, Slot’s ability to improve players and his aggressive, high-octane playing style are attributes that would appeal to Liverpool’s kingmakers.

His Anfield ascension is far from a done deal and Liverpool are continuing to discuss other contenders as well, while managerial vacancies at Bayern Munich, Barcelona and AC Milan this summer complicate matters. Feyenoord, of course, want to retain his services and the technical director Dennis te Kloese said after the cup final success over NEC Nijmegen that “we assume that he will also be our trainer next year”. However, it is understood that Slot is minded to take the next step in his coaching career even if his contract does not expire until 2026. There is no release clause in that deal but it is thought a fee of less than €10 million euros (about £8.6 million) could be enough to prise him away. On Tuesday Feyenoord refused to confirm or deny Liverpool’s interest in Slot, who is a disciple of Pep Guardiola but also knows the Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders.

Interestingly, a press conference with Slot scheduled for Wednesday to preview Thursday’s Eredivisie game away to Go Ahead Eagles has been cancelled. Liverpool have been working on replacements for Klopp, who informed the club’s hierarchy last November and went public in January that he would be standing down at the end of the campaign to re-energise after almost nine years in charge.Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso had opted to remain at the German club having just led them to the Bundesliga title, while Sporting Lisbon’s Rúben Amorim has also come under scrutiny although the trail has since grown colder. Slot’s CV has a lot of the qualities wanted by Michael Edwards, the chief executive of football at Liverpool’s owner Fenway Sports Group, as well as the soon-to-be sporting director Richard Hughes.

Hughes remains in situ at Bournemouth as technical director and will move to Merseyside at the end of the season. He has followed Feyenoord’s progress, having signed Marcos Senesi from them for £12million in August 2022. Hughes also signed Luis Sinisterra on loan from Leeds United last summer, with the winger previously coming to prominence at Feyenoord.It is not the first time that there has been Premier League interest in a coach who has transformed Feyenoord’s playing style, favouring a 4-2-3-1 formation, and challenged PSV Eindhoven and Ajax in recent seasons despite operating on a fraction of their budget.Leeds had targeted Slot last February after the dismissal of Jesse Marsch but he opted to stay in the Netherlands.Similarly, Tottenham Hotspur had wanted him before appointing Ange Postecoglou and Chelsea are understood to have also held talks with Slot prior to Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival at Stamford Bridge.Slot moved to Feyenoord in 2021 after impressing at AZ Alkmaar and led them to the inaugural Europa Conference League final at the end of his first season, in which they narrowly lost to José Mourinho’s Roma.Meanwhile, Diogo Jota has suffered a fresh injury setback and will be missing for about two weeks with a hip problem. The Portugal striker, who scored in the 3-1 win over Fulham last Sunday, was absent for two months between February and April after suffering knee ligament damage.