Liverpool’s reported interest in Matthias Jaissle is another sign of how uncertain Arne Slot’s position has become.
The Dutchman remains in the job at the time of writing, but pressure is now coming from outside and inside the club after a miserable campaign.
TEAMtalk claim Liverpool have looked at Jaissle, with a ‘growing appreciation for his tactical approach’ as FSG weigh up possible alternatives.
What does Arne Slot have to do to win you back next season❓💭
He is not the most obvious name on the market, and he will not excite supporters in the way Xabi Alonso would have done. But the 38-year-old Al-Ahli boss is one of the more interesting young coaches in world football.
Who is Matthias Jaissle and why do Liverpool like him?
Jaissle had a short playing career as a centre-back with Hoffenheim before moving into coaching early.
He worked in the Red Bull system, including with RB Leipzig’s youth setup, before taking charge of FC Liefering and then RB Salzburg.
That Salzburg spell is what really put him on the map. Jaissle won two Austrian Bundesliga titles, lifted the Austrian Cup and took Salzburg into the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in their history.
He has since moved to Al-Ahli, where he is currently third in the Saudi Pro League with a squad built around Riyad Mahrez, Ivan Toney, Edouard Mendy and Franck Kessie.
There are stars there, of course. But compared to some of the names collected by the clubs around them, Al-Ahli feel more like a team than a collection of individuals — a well-oiled machine that has caught Liverpool’s attention.
At Salzburg, his football was built on a 4-2-3-1 shape, vertical passing, constant movement and high pressure. It was very much the Red Bull model, fast, direct and designed to win the ball back quickly.
That should interest Liverpool. Dominik Szoboszlai recently said Red Bull is where he learned his pressing mentality, at Salzburg and Leipzig.
That is the kind of edge Slot has failed to restore this season. Liverpool used to suffocate teams under Jurgen Klopp, but that intensity has too often disappeared.
Jaissle comes from a coaching school where that mentality is the foundation of a footballing philosophy.
There would be doubts, of course. He has never managed in the Premier League, and moving from Saudi Arabia to Liverpool would be an enormous jump. But there is logic behind the admiration. Jaissle is young, tactically modern and trained in one of the most recognisable football structures in Europe.
Liverpool may yet stick with Slot. But if they do make a change, Jaissle is exactly the kind of left-field candidate FSG would be expected to assess closely.
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