Arne Slot set to immediately return to Feyenoord to make first Liverpool signing but faces Arsenal competition

Arne Slot wants to take one of his Feyenoord stars with him to Liverpool, but he will face stiff competition from Arsenal.

The Jurgen Klopp era at Anfield is almost over, nine years after he joined the club in October 2015.

Dutch coach Arne Slot will officially replace Klopp on June 1, and he isn't going to waste any time on putting his stamp on things.

The 45-year-old - who over three years at Feyenoord won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup and reached a Europa Conference League final - has already brought forward the start of Liverpool's pre-season by a week to the beginning of July.

After Liverpool ran out of steam towards the end of their Premier League title challenge in 2023-24, Slot is certain to seek reinforcements to the squad he inherits.

In fact, it appears that his first target is someone he knows very well.

According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Slot wants to sign Feyenoord goalkeeper Justin Bijlow.

The 26-year-old has been at the Rotterdam club his whole career, and since 2021 has earned eight caps for the Netherlands. Ronald Koeman has included him in his provisional squad for Euro 2024 this summer.

However, this isn't a case of a manager simply wanting to take players he knows well with him.

Liverpool have reportedly been scouting Bijlow for a while, sending scouts to watch him play in Champions League matches against Lazio, Atletico Madrid and Celtic last season.

Arne Slot- Getty

The bad news is that Slot faces competition from Arsenal for the goalkeeper's signature. The Gunners sent scouts to those games, and see Bijlow as someone who can challenge David Raya as the club's number one in a way that Aaron Ramsdale could not.

The report claims that Mikel Arteta believes Bijlow would suit his team's system well, while club bosses also like the goalkeeper's age and profile as young goalkeepers can often struggle with the demands of the Premier League.

Last summer Liverpool's great rivals Manchester United were interested in Bijlow, but Erik ten Hag opted to bring in Andre Onana to replace David de Gea.

Feyenoord wanted more than €25 million to let Bijlow go last summer, but they are likely to accept less this time around.