Arne Slot delivered another blow to his hopes of staying at Liverpool on Saturday after serving up a drab 1-1 draw against Burnley.
The Dutchman has been coming under increasing pressure since October, with the Reds going from Premier League title favourites to top-four strugglers in that time.
Part of the reason Slot seemed destined to stay at Liverpool despite the poor form was because of a distinct lack of viable candidates to replace him.
Surely Arne Slot is living on borrowed time, when will Liverpool pull the trigger?
No wins against newly-promoted Premier League sides for the first time ever…
That changed this week as former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso was relieved of his duties as manager of Real Madrid.
Alonso was initially the favourite to replace Jurgen Klopp in 2024 but took himself out of consideration early on. Now free and available, it feels inevitable that the Spaniard will end up back at Anfield. Voting on Rousing The Kop’s new TalkingPoints platform, Liverpool fans are now expecting that to be sooner rather than later.
Liverpool fans expect to see Xabi Alonso appointed
After Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid on Monday, RTK asked readers to vote on whether the 44-year-old will be in charge at Anfield by the time the 2026/27 season begins.
At the time of writing, more than 1,200 fans have cast their votes, with a whopping 69% expecting to see Alonso in the dugout over the course of the next six months.
READ MORE: Steve Nicol warns Liverpool against hiring Xabi Alonso with ‘completely stupid’ claim
22% did not believe the Champions League winner will return within that time frame, with a further 9% sitting on the fence.
“Yes, Xabi Alonso is the most suitable manager for Liverpool,” said one supporter. “I think so,” added another.
However, there were several voices of doubt amongst the commenters, with some expressing concern that Liverpool will not act in the necessary manner.
Will Xabi Alonso be Liverpool manager by the start of the 2026/27 season?
If no, where will he be instead?
“Hughes and Edwards are quite capable of continuing their list of blunders when it comes to buy/sell markets so doubt this happening,” one fan said.
“Even if A. Slot is sack I wouldn’t want him to manage Liverpool,” commented another. “He is actually not that great of a coach or manager. If he’s good or capable he’ll still be in Real Madrid.”
“Wishful thinking, but if Slot carries on with emptying the stadium on 83 mins with his boring play, who knows,” someone else concluded.
Will a change happen before the end of the season?
Prior to Alonso’s sacking, it had felt highly unlikely that Slot would be let go by Liverpool mid-season.
The 47-year-old has plenty of credit in the bank and arguably deserves at least the full campaign to get his team back on track. However, with Alonso now available, the Reds may view things differently.
The World Cup winner would have been viewed as completely unattainable while still at Madrid, but he is now a genuine option, and waiting to swing what feels like an inevitable axe on Slot could lead to him going elsewhere.
If results and performances continue to be as bad as the one served up against Burnley, a change could certainly happen. If things improve, then do not count on it, and Liverpool may even stick with Slot in the face of mounting opposition ahead of next year too.
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