Two Liverpool back-up manager targets revealed as there are ‘no indications’ Alonso will join
Liverpool have identified Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim and Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann as back-up options if they fail to sign Xabi Alonso this summer, according to reports.
The Reds are on the lookout for a new manager after Jurgen Klopp announced last month that he will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
Klopp will lead Liverpool out at Wembley on Sunday as the Reds look to win the League Cup, while they are still top of the Premier League, in the FA Cup fifth round and Europa League last 16.
And the German’s shoes will be incredibly tough to fill with former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso currently favourite to take over from Klopp in the summer.
However, interest from defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich means that Liverpool could now face a battle to land the Spaniard.
Thomas Tuchel is leaving his position at the end of the campaign too and Bayern Munich have also made Alonso their top target.
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And the Daily Telegraph claim that Liverpool have now identified Amorim and Nagelsmann ‘as potential alternatives should the club be unable to persuade’ Alonso to leave Bayer Leverkusen for Anfield.
Alonso has guided Leverkusen to top spot in the Bundesliga with his side yet to lose any of their 23 matches this season and they maintained their eight-point lead at the top of the standings with a 2-1 win over Mainz on Saturday.
Liverpool ‘are by no means assured of persuading Alonso’ to join the Premier League outfit in the summer and with Alonso’s contract running until 2026 at Leverkusen, they are ‘necessarily looking at alternatives’.
Spanish publication AS have also touched on the ‘domino effect’ expected on the benches this summer with Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona all looking for a new manager.
The imminent vacancies at the three clubs are ‘causing speculation to skyrocket’ around Europe with Alonso now the ‘most coveted figure’ in the manager market following his exploits at Leverkusen.
Alonso’s future is becoming a ‘headache’ for Leverkusen and ‘everything indicates’ he is the one who Liverpool have chosen to replace Klopp at Anfield.
However, ‘there are no indications’ that a deal is already done as the Premier League club look for a new coach ‘in line with Liverpool’s history’.
READ MORE: Bayer Leverkusen stars reassigned to Premier League clubs after Xabi Alonso joins Liverpool
