Former Liverpool defender suggests 53-year-old as ideal Jurgen Klopp replacement

According to former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson, Liverpool should replace Jurgen Klopp with England manager Gareth Southgate. 

Jurgen Klopp made a shock announcement back in January about him leaving the club at the end of the season.

This has sparked speculations regarding who will take reigns at Anfield with several managers being linked with the job.

Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is being reported as the frontrunner for the job, having done an exceptional job at Bayer Leverkusen this season.

He has the Leverkusen leading the Bundesliga, 10 points ahead of Bayern Munich. With just 8 games to go, Alonso is on the verge of ending Bayern’s 12-year dominance with the last club stopping them from winning the league was Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund.

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are set to rival the Reds for his appointment with all three of his former clubs showing strong interest in him.

Other managers to be linked with the Liverpool job includes Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and England manager Gareth Southgate.

Glen Johnson believes Liverpool should appoint Gareth Southgate

Among those who are backing the England man to take the Liverpool job is ex defender Glen Johnson.

The right-back who made 200 appearances for the Reds, claims there is no reason why Southgate can be a success at his old club given the job he has done with England.

He emphasises that the Englishman would be dealing with a similar standard of players as Liverpool’s making it easy for him to implement his ways.

During a recent interview with Betfred, he said:

“It’s an awkward one to talk about because you don’t want to go into a major tournament speculating about whether England’s manager is going elsewhere.”

“If he’s available in the summer, then you’ve got to look at all the options. He’s done a brilliant job with England, so there’s no reason why he can’t be successful with a club like Liverpool as he’d be dealing with a similar standard of players.”

“You’d need to have the chat because you can’t just dismiss him if he’s available.”

Glen Johnson backs Gareth Southgate for the Liverpool job

Johnson went on to add that he wants Xabi Alonso to take over the job in the future but believes, now would be too early for the Spaniard as Liverpool need someone to take the first bullet in the post-Klopp era.

He added:

“I believe somebody needs to come in after Jürgen Klopp and take the bullet first.” 

“I know that sounds horrible and brutal to say, but there’s no chance of whoever comes in next being better than Jürgen and that’s a testament to the team he’s built at Liverpool.”