Rayan Cherki's 'genius' verdict on manager who could replace Arne Slot at Liverpool

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Manchester City star Rayan Cherki hailed Liverpool-linked head coach Pierre Sage as a 'genius' as the Reds hunt for a replacement for Arne Slot . The Liverpool hierarchy are on the lookout for a new head coach after sacking the 47-year-old following two seasons at Anfield.

Slot won the Premier League title in his debut campaign at the helm, but Liverpool ended last season in fifth place, scraping Champions League qualification on the final day. The Reds board parted ways with the former Feyenoord manager and have compiled a shortlist of potential successors.

Current RC Lens boss Sage, whom Cherki knows from his time at Olympique Lyonnais, is reportedly among those on that shortlist, alongside Andoni Iraola and Sebastian Hoeness. The 47-year-old Frenchman steered Lens to their first-ever Coupe de France trophy and secured a runners-up finish in Ligue 1, earning a Champions League berth.

The Anfield dressing room has been a hotbed of tension this season following Mohamed Salah's very public falling-out with Slot, with the Liverpool icon widely expected to depart the club this summer. Cherki has previously praised Sage for restoring calm to a Lyon squad that had been in disarray under his predecessors.

Speaking to L'Equipe and Prime Video Sport France about Sage during his time at Lyon, Cherki said: "The coach brought back the serenity we needed so much. He knows how to talk to players, he understands how we feel.

"With him, there is no pretending. He gives us freedom while establishing a very clear framework. It's exactly what we needed."

Cherki's rapport with managers has come under the microscope throughout his career, but speaking to RMC Sport, he praised Sage for extracting his finest performances.

The City playmaker previously stated: "He knows how to push my buttons, he knows how to talk to me to get the best out of me. He gives me the keys to create on the pitch, but he also reminds me of my defensive duties. It is a relationship based on an indispensable mutual trust."

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Sage possessed limited first-team experience before assuming control at Lyon, yet Cherki was swift to champion Sage, branding him a tactical mastermind. Speaking to Le Progrès, he remarked: "People forget just how much of a tactical genius he is.

"Every match is prepared down to the millimetre. We know exactly where the spaces are, what we have to do with the ball. He makes football simpler for us."

Former Bournemouth manager Iraola, though, is understood to be the leading candidate to succeed Slot, with the departing Cherries chief leaving the Vitality Stadium this summer having steered the club to Europe for the first time in their history.

Iraola has also reportedly held discussions with Crystal Palace , AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen, but Liverpool are understood to be leading the race in talks, while ex-Stuttgart manager Hoeness is also amongst the club's targets.

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