Liverpool can take rafa benitez advice and trigger £128m clause for arne slot

Liverpool can heed Rafa Benitez’s advice by activating an eye-watering £128million release clause for one of Arne Slot’s reported top targets. The Reds are said to be interested in Slot’s

former Feyenoord captain Orkun Kokcu, who now plays for Benfica. Feyenoord sold Kokcu to Benfica last summer and the 23-year-old midfielder has excelled. He scored seven goals and provided

eight assists in his debut campaign for the Portuguese giants. Turkish publication Fotospor claim that Kokcu has been identified as a transfer target for Liverpool ahead of the summer

transfer window. The player has a reported £128m release clause which, if activated by the Reds, would make him the club’s most expensive player of all-time. That figure might make senior

figures at Anfield wince, but they have been warned by former boss Benitez that a manager’s first couple of signings can be a major factor in the succeeding at a club. If Slot therefore

wishes to sign Kokcu, then the Reds hierarchy might want to ensure they do all they can to sign the Turkey international. Benitez told the Telegraph: “If you already have a good team, you

can win straight away. There may not be too much to do in the transfer market. But if you are taking over a team coming to the end of a cycle, or where big players want to leave, the

challenge is different. “Players in their mid-30s will not perform like they did at 28. They are already in decline. The first two or three signings for the new manager are always massive.

You have to get it right straight away.” Slot was confirmed as Liverpool’s new head coach on Monday. The Dutchman has the unenviable task of replacing Jurgen Klopp, whose nine-year tenure

has come to an end. Major changes have been made to the structure of the club’s hierarchy to cope with the departure of the influential German. Richard Hughes will become Liverpool’s new

sporting director this summer, while Michael Edwards and Julian Ward - who have previously held Hughes’s job title at Anfield - are returning to the club to work under owners Fenway Sports

Group. Slot, who takes the title of head coach rather than manager, will report to Hughes and Edwards. The 45-year-old begins work on June 1, pending a work permit. Although Liverpool have a

squad ready-made to challenge for titles, there is expected to be a busy summer on Merseyside. Slot, whose data profile impressed Liverpool chiefs, will want to fine-tune his options into a

team that fits his image.