42-year-old would join Liverpool as their next manager if he’s asked

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The rumours continue to swirl over just who will succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.

It’s now been over a week since Klopp unbelievably announced his decision to step down at Anfield at the end of the season. Since then, plenty of potential replacements have been suggested.

So far, the most likely man to take the job appears to be Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard already has a legacy as a Champions League winner with the Reds and is doing a superb job with Bayer Leverkusen. There are questions over whether Alonso will feel ready for the Liverpool job. But speaking to BBC Sport this week, German journalist Raphael Honigstein says he thinks the 42-year-old would ultimately jump at the chance to return to Anfield.

“If he gets the offer, I think he’d be crazy personally not to take it,” Honigstein muses. “The only reason he wouldn’t take it is he might feel he needs a bit more time, might want to play a first Champions League season, learn a bit more on the job. But, the reason I believe he will take it if it is offered to him is because I think he understands that Liverpool, for all their flaws and they’re not perfect, are a pretty stable environment under FSG.

“If you become a successful manager there, I think you have the chance to influence an amount of time that is hard to see in other big clubs.

“Liverpool doesn’t just offer the chance to win titles, but to be the main figure for five, six, seven, eight years if you’re successful.”

Alonso tipped to accept Reds role

You can understand why Alonso might feel it’s a little too early for him to take on a job as big as the one at Liverpool. This is his first full season as a senior level manager after all.

He’d only have to look at someone like Frank Lampard at Chelsea to see that jumping at the first top position that comes your way – and at a former club no less – can go very badly wrong.

But we also have to agree with Honigstein here. Alonso may have preferred this opportunity to come up three or fours years down the line, but when it comes along, how can you say no.

As with any job in football management, there’s a chance that it turns out to be the wrong move. But there’s also a strong possibility that it ends up being the making of him.

Ever since he left the club way back in 2009, it has always felt as though Alonso was planning a return. If that becomes a concrete prospect, then Xabi simply has to take it, ahead of schedule or not.

Of course, Alonso can be as keen as he wants. It makes no difference if FSG don’t make him the offer.

But, methodical though they are, surely even Liverpool’s owners can see that the World Cup winner is the outstanding candidate for the job.

The fans would instantly be on his side and he’d be given the time and resources to succeed. It all feels like a no-brainer.