Claims Amorim used West Ham interest to put pressure on Liverpool

Sporting boss Ruben Amorim has been the hot favorite to take over the Liverpool job ever since Xabi Alonso announced he wanted to stay at Leverkusen. In the last week, the Reds’ search for a new manager has taken a new turn.

Feyenoord manager Arne Slot now appears to be Michael Edwards and co’s first choice, at least according to credible journalists such as Paul Joyce (The Times) and David Ornstein (The Athletic). Fabrizio Romano has also reported the same.

It has ended with Amorim ending up a bit out in the cold, and now also comes the explanation as to why he chose to have a meeting with West Ham earlier this week. This is written by Portuguese Bruno Andrade (CNN Portugal) and English Zach Lowy (BBC), both of whom are considered credible sources.

“Ruben Amorim and his agent used West Ham’s interest to put pressure on Liverpool. They chose to respond by publishing rumors that Amorim’s name had weakened and that Arne Slot was the favorite for the job,” writes Andrade, reproduced by Lowy.

A small summary

Sporting manager Amorim has been a favorite with the bookmakers and among the English press since Xabi Alonso decided to stay at Leverkusen for another year. That news came on March 29.

At the start of this week, Feyenoord boss Arne Slot was suddenly up the charts on the odds market, and on Monday evening came the news of the meeting in London between Ruben Amorim and West Ham. That meeting ended with a refusal from the Portuguese, according to Fabrizio Romano.

On Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after Amorim’s meeting, Paul Joyce published a story in The Times that Arne Slot was a candidate for the Liverpool job, and that the Reds were very interested in him. Then Romano also reported that there had been direct talks with the Feyenoord manager.

On Wednesday morning, The Athletic and Lewis Steele in the Daily Mail reported that Feyenoord would demand £8.59m for their manager. Slot’s upcoming press conference ahead of this weekend’s game against the Go Ahead Eagles was also cancelled.

A few hours ago, at 12 o’clock on Wednesday, word came that Liverpool’s first bid for Slot had been rejected, but that negotiations continued. That news came from David Ornstein.

That is currently the latest news about the Dutchman, who appears to be above Ruben Amorim on Liverpool’s list. More developments in the case are expected in the coming hours and days.