Liverpool: who to succeed Jürgen Klopp?

Jürgen Klopp said stop. After nine years of good and loyal service rendered to Liverpool, the German technician announced this Friday his departure at the end of the season. A real surprise, when he was able to regain height by placing his club back on the throne of the Premier League. Obviously, the 56-year-old coach felt the need to take a breather, having not experienced the slightest interruption in his coaching career since his debut in 2001. Although this announcement has no immediate effect, the question of his succession is already necessarily posed in England, where the media have echoed several possibilities in recent hours. If the bookmakers placed Xabi Alonso as the big favorite to take over from the German, they were clearly not mistaken.

As indicated The Telegraph this Friday, the Spaniard, who spent time with the club as a player (2004-2009), would emerge as the priority of the English management. Today at the head of Leverkusen where he has managed to combine business with pleasure through a well-marked playing philosophy (his club is first in the Bundesliga and produces one of the finest football in Germany), Alonso would have already has a clause facilitating his departure at the end of the season. As reported BILD in recent weeks, his contract would allow him to freely join one of his former clubs, namely Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Liverpool. Since Carlo Ancelotti was recently extended to Madrid, and Thomas Tuchel is still at the head of the Munich club despite a weakened situation, the option leading to Liverpool seems to be the most likely.

Beautiful people to start a new cycle

Besides Xabi Alonso, who stands out as the big favorite according to The Telegraph, other pretty names are cited to outline a new cycle in Liverpool. With this in mind, the name of Roberto De Zerbi is one of the other candidates likely to succeed Jürgen Klopp. Since his arrival on the Brighton bench in September 2022, the Italian has worked wonders and allowed his club to reach Europe with a good 6th place in the Premier League. Recently, Pep Guardiola even named him as his successor at Manchester City. Proof of the reputation he was able to build in England.

He too was able to cultivate a good reputation in a few months. With a notable start to the season at the head of Tottenham, transformer Ange Postecoglou could also be a lead. However, the Telegraph is more cautious and indicates that there is no indication that the Australian-Greek will be ready to leave his club less than a year after joining it. What about Steven Gerrard? An absolute Liverpool legend, the current coach of Al-Ettifaq would naturally have been cited as Klopp’s heir a few seasons ago. But for the Telegraph, his popularity has dropped drastically since his failed experience at Aston Villa. Other very hypothetical avenues, such as Graham Potter, free since his departure from Chelsea in April, Eddie Howe, losing momentum with Newcastle this season, or even Thomas Tuchel, still at Bayern Munich, are also cited. One thing is certain: there is food and drink.