According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool are considering Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso as a candidate to be Jurgen Klopp’s successor for next season at Anfield.
Liverpool supporters had their worst nightmares realised on Friday morning when Jurgen Klopp revealed he will end his nine-year tenure on Merseyside at the end of the season, instead of seeing out his contract until 2026.
The beloved German coach has been one of the most successful managers the club has ever seen with a Premier League title, Champions League trophy, FA Cup, EFL Cup and UEFA Super League under his belt, as well as a strong opportunity to add to that collection in his final four months.
Ever since Klopp made his position clear ahead of the weekend there has been mounting curiosity and speculation surrounding the huge question mark that hangs over Anfield – who will be worthy of replacing him?
Italian journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has today revealed to GIVEMESPORT exactly who is expected to be the strongest candidate for the vast job that is vacant on the red side of Merseyside:
“They need a total rebuild. They need someone new added to the board, a new manager and new staff, so many things are going to change at Liverpool.”
“From what I’m hearing, for sure, Xabi Alonso is a candidate they are considering. At the moment, there are no concrete conversations, so it is too early to say if Xabi Alonso will be the next Liverpool manager. But, for sure, he is a candidate.”
Will Xabi Alonso be the next Liverpool manager?
There is no doubt that replacing Klopp will be no easy task for the club owners, especially when they will also need to hire an entire backroom staff, including a sporting director, before the summer transfer window commences.
Xabi Alonso makes sense to become the next Liverpool manager as an ex-player who is loved by the supporters and a man who has a sound understanding of the high expectations, as well as the club culture which is something that plays a huge part in their success over the years.
However, his lack of experience at the top level of football as a manager does spark a cause for concern when taking on a monster role like the one available at Anfield, and though not necessarily a negative attribute, it would very likely mean that the Anfield faithful will need to show patience with the Spaniard.
Alonso is absolutely excelling and exceeding all expectations anyone would have had for him in his first full season in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen and is currently causing a headache for Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich as he is top of the table and unbeaten in the German league so far.
The 42-year-old has an outstanding record with a 50.34% win percentage across his short career so far, and at Leverkusen this season has an 85.71% win percentage which is an incredibly impressive record in all competitions.
With that being said, it goes without saying that Alonso would be a very popular choice to succeed Klopp, but will require supporters to show patience while he finds his feet and empathy for the fact that he is a very young and inexperienced manager.
