Jurgen Klopp: Xabi Alonso the ‘frontrunner’ to become next Liverpool manager says Jamie Carragher | Football News

Jamie Carragher thinks his former Liverpool team-mate Xabi Alonso has to be regarded as the frontrunner to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

Carragher and Alonso spent five years playing together following the Spaniard’s arrival from Real Sociedad in 2004, with the pair winning the Champions League on a famous night in Istanbul in Alonso’s first season.

Alonso would go on to play for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, before returning to the Bundesliga in October 2022 for his first senior managerial role as head coach at Bayer Leverkusen.

Leverkusen have thrived under Alonso and have surprised everyone in German football this season by topping the Bundesliga where they are unbeaten in 18 matches and are four points clear of Bayern Munich.

Alonso said earlier on Friday he is “really happy” at Bayer Leverkusen and is not thinking about his future after being installed by the bookmakers as the favourite to succeed Klopp, who announced in the morning that he would be leaving Liverpool in the summer.

Carragher told Sky Sports News: “I think right now, if you look around the Premier League and Europe and you think who fits Liverpool, there is no doubt you cannot get away from Xabi Alonso, a former team-mate of mine.

“It’s because he is so respected at Liverpool for what he did as a player, he is a Champions League winner, has always held himself with real class, he’s a World Cup winner – and that’s just his playing side.

“You think of the managers he has worked under, Rafa Benitez at Liverpool, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, and all of these great figures.

“And right now with the job he is doing at Bayer Leverkusen, he almost looks like the brightest young thing in European football, there is no doubt about that.

“The other one I look at is Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton, who has done a fantastic job. The thing that stands out about them as well, which always stood out about Jurgen Klopp, was that Jurgen was always able to be successful, without being at the biggest spending of teams.

“You look at what Xabi Alonso is doing at Bayer Leverkusen, competing with Bayern Munich. You look at what De Zerbi is doing trying to compete with other top teams in the league, and has done really well especially last season.

“But I would certainly say the frontrunner, and I think it’s too rich me saying it, would certainly be Xabi Alonso – for the job he is doing at Bayer Leverkusen, who are still the only undefeated team in Europe in all competitions.

“There is a long way to go but they are in a great position. I think for what he has achieved, the managers he has played under, and the start he has made to his managerial career, he is certainly the frontrunner.”

De Zerbi lacks a connection with Liverpool’

Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:

“I think you can make a strong case for Roberto De Zerbi taking over at Liverpool. He’s done a fantastic job at Brighton. He’s working under constraints that managers at the biggest clubs don’t have to work under.

“What he lacks on his CV perhaps is that connection with Liverpool that a Xabi Alonso has, but from what Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan said today, they are going to have a proper process. Liverpool are going to look at different candidates and then identify the one outstanding candidate.

“They will do things properly, but they have to be respectful towards other clubs as well. When they got Klopp it was a relatively easy deal to do because he was out of work and taking a sabbatical after leaving Borussia Dortmund.

“But if they are to go for an Alonso or a De Zerbi, they have to be very mindful that they are both in work. They don’t want to do anything that would distract Bayer Leverkusen or Brighton and derail their seasons.”

‘Alonso the outstanding candidate’

Sky Sports News senior reporter Melissa Reddy:

“Xabi Alonso is the outstanding candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

“I’d be staggered if it wasn’t him for a number of reasons. The pedigree he has in the game and the respect he commands. How he is doing at Bayer Leverkusen and the philosophy of the team. The profile of the players he is working with and the constraints he is working under. Despite this he is still battling with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

“There are other things that are very important for that Liverpool job and that is your principles, how you connect with the city and your synergy with supporters. All of these things need to be married. It’s not just about how good of a manager you are. You have to be able to get that club, to get those people and to get that city. Xabi does get it.

“Now, we are all talking about the surprise element of the news. It was a shock. It was probably a shock for Alonso too and he was probably sat there thinking it was a bit soon. if this was possibly at the end of next season, he would have had more time to imprint himself on Leverkusen.

“So, for him, I think he will be sitting there thinking what an opportunity. This job is not going to hang around. If he doesn’t accept it in the summer and somebody else gets it, when might he get another crack at it, if ever. But he is doing such great work in Germany with Leverkusen.

“Obviously, he is on this journey and there has been a lot of effort and passion that he has put into the Leverkusen job, and he’ll want to see it it out and get the reward.

“The only way this doesn’t happen for me is if he decides it is perhaps too soon for him. However, the scale of the opportunity and the fact that amonsgt all the candidates, the one who has the most gravitas and suitability for that role right now and for what that team is going to look like at the end of the season, it’s Alonso.”

‘Alonso ticks a lot of the boxes required’

Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:

“Xabi Alonso ticks a lot of the boxes required. There are very few managers out there who have what it takes to manage a club like Liverpool. Because of his record as a player, not just what he achieved at Liverpool but also at Bayern Munich and Real Madrid as well, and also the job he is doing at Bayer Leverkusen at the moment, it means he is the choice of most Liverpool supporters.

“If you were to ask them today who they wanted to take over from Klopp, I think the majority of them would say Alonso.

“Yes, it would be a little bit of a risk because he hasn’t been a head coach for that long. But if you remember what he was like as a player, what he achieved on the pitch both for his clubs and with Spain, how he carries himself, how he speaks, the aura he has around him and also whatever everyone he has worked with says about him, he is the favourite for the job at Anfield.

“It is still very early days, of course, but I think Alonso is the one that makes the most sense.”

Is Gerrard out of the question?

Sky Sports News reporter Vinny O’Connor:

“I wouldn’t necessarily say out of the question but in terms of their managerial careers, Xabi Alonso is in a better place when you look at Bayer Leverkusen’s form so far this season. They have won their last six games in all competitions and are four points clear of Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga.

“Steven Gerrard is currently over in Saudi Arabia and when you look at how his managerial career has gone, he had such success at Rangers delivering the Scottish title for the club – their first in 10 years. They were also unbeaten in that campaign in 2021.

“That got him the move to Aston Villa but of course it didn’t work out and he ended up losing his job.

“But in terms of what he would bring to Liverpool, when you talk about understanding the football club, understanding what the fans want and understanding everything that goes along with being the Liverpool manager, Gerrard has a pretty good idea of that.

“So does Alonso to a certain extent and maybe that puts both of them ahead of someone Roberto De Zerbi because yes, he’s brought success at Brighton, but it is very different going into a club like Liverpool.

“I wouldn’t necessarily rule out Gerrard. Speaking to the fans, they don’t seem dead against the idea of someone like Gerrard coming in and replacing Klopp. It would certainly be an appointment the fans would get behind. You could imagine his first game at Anfield were he to take charge.

“Xabi Alonso definitely has interesting credentials, but a Gerrard appointment would also be really interesting.

“At the same time, we know what Billy Hogan said, they will go through all the information and all the data. This is going to be a rigorous recruitment process and they will look to keep it under wraps as this season continues. The focus remains on the pitch and what Klopp might deliver.”