I played with Arne Slot after leaving Liverpool - he is perfect successor for Jurgen Klopp

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld believes his former team-mate, Arne Slot, is ‘the perfect fit’ to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Reds manager.

With the German confirmed to be leaving the club in the summer, Feyenoord manager Slot has emerged as a leading candidate to replace him at Anfield. Liverpool opened negotiations with the Dutch club on Wednesday as they ramp up their efforts to appoint a successor.

Westerveld, who won the treble with the Reds in 2001, was team-mates with Slot at Sparta Rotterdam. The pair made 21 appearances alongside each other during the 2007/08 season, while they remain close friends and regularly golf together to this day.

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The former goalkeeper has spoken to Slot since Liverpool’s interest in the Feyenoord boss went public. And while the 45-year-old gave little away regarding his future intentions, Westerveld, who always knew his compatriot would make a good manager, thinks he would be perfect for the Reds.

“When I played with Arne at Sparta, you could see that he would become a coach,” Westerveld told The Times. “He was a leader, a No10 midfielder and someone who would change tactics by himself.

“I spoke to him this morning and he just said it is not a secret that Liverpool wants him but that he could not say anything. I hope it will happen.

“The job he has done at Feyenoord makes him the perfect fit for Liverpool… When he signed for Feyenoord they sold the best player, Steven Berghuis, to Ajax and they didn’t have lots of money to spend.

“Everyone said it would be difficult, but Arne said: “No, no, I