Arne Slot said he does not have sympathy for Eddie Howe over the Alexander Isak affair – but has revealed that his Newcastle counterpart is the only Premier League manager he texts.
Isak is set to sit out Monday’s meeting between the two clubs after Liverpool had a £110m bid for him rejected, with the Sweden striker accusing Newcastle of breaking promises to him and suggesting his relationship with them is damaged beyond repair.
But while Newcastle will be deprived of a player who scored 23 Premier League goals last season and are unlikely to field a specialist striker against Liverpool at St James’ Park, Slot said he does not feel sorry for Howe as the saga drags on.
He said: “In general I have sympathy for Eddie Howe because he is a great human being, he’s always polite, so that is my general feeling about him. It’s maybe not a coincidence that I’ve texted with him because I think he’s a very nice and honest, polite colleague. For the rest, I don’t need to have sympathy for a manager that can still have the availability of [Anthony] Gordon, [Jacob] Murphy, [Anthony] Elanga, [Harvey] Barnes. You don’t need to have sympathy for a manager who has so many good players in his squad.
“But in general, I like him and I don’t think it will be a surprise to anyone if eventually he is going to lead the national team of England as well. Good human being and a very good manager.”
Slot said he is closer to Howe than any other Premier League manager. The Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes worked with Howe at Bournemouth and Slot, who readily admitted Newcastle deserved to beat his side in March’s Carabao Cup final, got his number from the Scot.
The Dutchman is unsure if relations between the two clubs have soured at boardroom level but expects that he and Howe will still get on well.
“The only [Premier League] manager I’ve ever texted with was Eddie Howe,” he explained. “In Holland I texted with a few more, but after the League Cup final we did exchange a few messages. If I see him I will be the same as I was last year, and I expect nothing different from him as well. On a higher level, I have no clue. For me it’s still the same relationship with him.
“It’s not like we are friends and we are going to go on holiday together. He’s a good manager, he’s always very respectful to other managers as well. He’s always calm standing there. I like him as a manager and as a person. There’s a connection between my sports director and him as well. My sports director has his number. Maybe he doesn’t have all the numbers of all the other managers, I don’t know.”
