Before any plans are made at Liverpool for next season, the club has to make one important decision – find Jurgen Klopp’s successor. It’s not an easy task for FSG. Klopp has embodied Liverpool Football Club in its perfect essence since he arrived at Anfield.
He has had a connection with the club’s supporters that few managers in Liverpool history have had. It’s a testament to his magnetism that he is one of the few managers who has been compared to Bill Shankly. Klopp has quite simply turned Liverpool from doubters to believers. Just as he had promised. And throughout it all he has embraced the ethos and philosophy of the club.
To find someone of the same calibre and charisma seems like an impossible task. But FSG are making the right steps. Michael Edwards has returned to his old throne, and he will be one of the people overseeing the proceedings. Given his track record, it’s obvious the club are in good hands.
Phil Thompson on Jurgen Klopp’s replacement
Since Jurgen Klopp announced his decision to leave Liverpool, many club legends have chimed in to have their say on the matter. Speaking on talkSPORT, Phil Thompson is the latest among them.
Thompson had of course played for Liverpool for many years and won pretty much everything you could as a professional footballer at the time. He also had stints managing at Liverpool. So he definitely understands what is required of the next manager to take over from Klopp.
“I would hope like most Liverpool fans that it would be Xabi Alonso, not that I know anything,” Thompson said. And then he explained the reasons why as follows:
“Our club and owners have been very good, yes, they have made a couple of mistakes but generally they have been good owners and you look at it, Jurgen telling them in November that he was leaving, Jurgen not announcing it until the end of January. And I think they have been doing their due diligence, and it’s only my opinion, I would like to think they know who it is and the deal has been done, because they have then told Jurgen now you can make that announcement because three months is a long time for people not to know.”
Could FSG have already agreed a deal with Xabi Alonso?
It’s a delicate situation with Xabi Alonso and Liverpool at the moment. Right now, the Spaniard is doing a brilliant job at Bayer Leverkusen. FSG therefore have to approach talks tentatively. Alonso will likely not want a distraction to disrupt his season.
However, it does seem like Bayer Leverkusen could wrap up the Bundesliga title race pretty soon. They are now 10 points clear with just eight games left to play. For Liverpool, if Alonso can win that title early it may be an advantage for FSG to agree a deal early as well. Although it depends on how far Bayer Leverkusen get in the Europa League. If the prospect of a final looms between the two clubs it would be a bizarre situation for Alonso to manage Leverkusen against the club he could join only a few weeks later.
It’s clear Alonso is the perfect candidate. Like Klopp he has the connection with the fans and that will help him settle a lot easier. FSG will be doing everything to get their man, and in turn fulfil Thompson’s wish.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
