Liverpool: Xabi Alonso told he should be ‘petrified’ of replacing Klopp due to one huge ‘problem’

Joe Williams
Liverpool target Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso has been linked with the Liverpool job

Liverpool managerial candidates Xabi Alonso, Ruben Amorim and Roberto De Zerbi have been warned over the “poisoned chalice” of replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

The Reds are on the lookout for a new manager after Klopp announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the season to take a break from football management.

Liverpool are expected to formally approach their top target once they have agreed a deal to bring in a new sporting director with the Reds looking to align strategies.

Alonso is favourite for the Liverpool job and reportedly their top candidate to take over from Klopp, who led the Reds to Carabao Cup final glory on Sunday in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea after extra time.

Sporting Lisbon’s Amorim, Brighton boss De Zerbi and Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann have also been mooted as potential alternatives to Alonso.

But former Arsenal and Chelsea winger Karen Carney insists that she would be “petrified” to follow on from Klopp’s legacy, she said on Sky Sports: “He has everything!

READ MORE: Liverpool’s Carabao Cup glory is a true underdog story after ‘perfect’ final

“He has the fans, he’s got the city, he’s got the community, he’s got the players… He has everything and I would be petrified about following that. It would put me off, being totally honest.”

Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge added: “The new man has to be themselves. ‘You have to be you’, if you like. No-one can be like Klopp and has to be their true, authentic self.

“It’s up to them if they want to be somebody who can engage with the fans; Klopp’s been absolutely magnificent in that regard.

“But the next manager who comes in, they’re going to want to put their style of play down there.. We’ve got managers we see speculation around, Amorim at Sporting Libson and Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen and you’ve got [Roberto] De Zerbi… there’s all these coaches out there that I’m sure have the credentials.

“Liverpool themselves will be doing a mass review and deciding for themselves who is out there and who can we get to come in and do it.

“But it’s going to be a difficult job. We know that because this manager has been very special for this football club.”

Jamie Redknapp added when discussing Klopp: “He’s just a one-off. You can’t go in and pretend to be like him.”

Carney interjected: “That’s the problem though. Whoever comes in will find themselves compared to Klopp. That’s why the job, for me, is a bit of a poisoned chalice right now.”

Sturridge continued: “I don’t think managers are out there thinking ‘ooo, I don’t want to be Liverpool coach. This is a job that a lot of managers would love to have because this is a magnificent football club. The fans, the club, the history, the success they’ve had both in recent years and in previous years. It’s the perfect job and club for any manager who wants to further their career. But of course, it’s the timing of it…

“Jurgen has won a trophy this year, there. might even be two or three more coming too… so whoever comes in are going to have that same expectation too.”