Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has become the first Reds player to speak on the potential appointment of Arne Slot.
The Reds are closing in on Slot as they work on a deal with Feyenoord to make him their next manager when Jurgen Klopp leaves the club at the end of the season.
Anfield officials contacted the Dutch champions on Wednesday with a first offer of compensation for the 49-year-old, who does not have a release clause in his contract.
The situation is developing quickly and talks to bring Slot to Anfield could even be concluded before the weekend. He will inherit a successful-but-damaged squad, who look to have left the title race following their 2-0 defeat to local rivals Everton on Wednesday.
Van Dijk, who also captain the Netherlands national team, the same country that Slot is from, spoke of his countryman after Liverpool's loss to Everton, and has high hopes of his potential arrival.
'I think Slot is one of the better Dutch coaches at the moment, the 32-year-old said. 'With the way he plays and the philosophy he has, he can be a Liverpool coach.
'But I read and hear that it is far from complete. We shall see. We will focus on that next season, but that is still a long way off.'
The Reds have four games remaining this season, and trail leaders Arsenal by three points. They are one point ahead of defending champions Manchester City, who have two games in hand.
Defeats to Crystal Palace and Everton have de-railed their title charge, with Slot set to be the man to try and kick the Reds onto the next level.
Slot, who was considered by both Tottenham and Chelsea last summer, has found immense success since joining the Dutch side in 2021 and has become one of the most progressive coaches in European football.
He recently guided his side Feyenoord to victory in the KNVB Cup; the second trophy he has won in charge of the Rotterdam giants, having made them domestic champions 12 months ago.
Van Dijk was critical of his team-mates following the defeat, questioning their desire to win the Premier League as they dropped yet more points.
Games like these, the bare minimum is fight,' said the defender. 'We were lacking that at so many moments. Small challenges, some passes that were not clear so we came into challenges that they won and they got momentum out of it.
'They were having I don't know how many set pieces. That could make a difference because it's a strength of theirs.
'But we have to look in the mirror and each and every one of us has to think like, "Listen, you can't accept this, you can't accept the way we let our season end, if you play like we did today, you don't deserve to win the league".'