18 May 2024 , 19:30
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Feyenoord view former Liverpool midfielder Nuri Sahin as a top contender to replace Anfield-bound Arne Slot but they may have to wait until after the Champions League final to tie up a potential deal.
Sahin recently held private discussions with De Kuip chiefs over the vacancy and the Turk is understood to have made a real impression upon the club's hierarchy. However, the ex-Real Madrid midfielder is currently the assistant boss of Borussia Dortmund, who he also represented as a player, and does not want talks over his future to disrupt preparations for next month's Champions League final against Los Blancos.
Turkish giants Besiktas are also eyeing Sahin after recently sacking former Portugal head coach Fernando Santos. The 35-year-old also has nearly two years of managerial experience with Super Lig outfit Antalyaspor and now a two-way battle for his services is starting to heat up.
Meanwhile, Slot announced on Friday that he'd finally signed his Liverpool contract and he could also take large numbers of his backroom staff with him to Merseyside following the mass Anfield exodus.
FC Twente boss Joseph Oosting had been a key target of interest for Feyenoord but he has since extended his contract with his current club, who are now interviewing alternative candidates.
Sahin only returned to Dortmund to support Edin Terzic in December but he could be in line for a swift departure from Signal Iduna Park. Slot will manage his last game in charge of Feyenoord on Sunday against Excelsior as he prepares to embark on his new venture in the Premier League.
Arne Slot will replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool next season (Geert van Erven/Soccrates/Getty Images)He told reporters ahead of the emotional spectacle: "I can confirm that I will become the trainer there next year. Until now I was not thinking about this being the build-up to my last match, but that starts coming now. At the beginning of the week you are thinking about training and those kinds of things.
"But the feeling gets stronger now. That is why I'm a little bit late now [for the news conference], because I wanted to say goodbye to some people personally and take time for them, more than just shaking hands. I understand that good results help, but it is very nice to feel that people really are thinking it's a pity that I'm leaving."
Liverpool are still yet to make any formal announcement themselves, though club sources have acknowledged that an agreement with Feyenoord over a compensation package for Slot has been finalised.