Liverpool made contact with Xabi Alonso over taking over as the club’s manager next season in November, according to a report.
Alonso is the overwhelming favourite to become the Reds’ new boss next term on the back of Jurgen Klopp revealing he will be stepping down from his role after eight-and-a-half years in May.
Klopp told supporters in an emotional video message last month that he is ‘running out of energy’ and will be stepping down from his role as manager at the end of the current season.
While the Reds have been somewhat mourning the German’s imminent exit, they are faced with the task of finding someone to replace the man who has helped the club once again become one of the giants of world football.
And, according to Foot Mercato, that process has begun, with the first contact reportedly already made with the leading candidate having found out about Klopp’s departure in November.
Liverpool made contact with Xabi Alonso about replacing Jurgen Klopp back in November, according to a report
The Reds are on the hunt for a new manager after Jurgen Klopp announced he will leave the club at the end of the season
Klopp (pictured) told the club he would be leaving in November, but revealed the news to supporters in January
According to the report, Alonso, who played for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009 and was part of the Champions League winning team of 2005, is top of the club’s list of potential new managers.
While the first contact is likely to be to understand if there is a possibility of the 42-year-old taking over his former side, the matter is move complicated because he is currently manager of Bayer Leverkusen.
After taking over in the summer in what is his first managerial role, Alonso has taken the club to the top of the Bundesliga table, two points ahead of Bayern Munich after 20 games, having won 16 of them and remaining unbeaten.
The former midfielder is understood to be happy at his current club and fully focused on trying to win the league title, though that’s not to say a deal couldn’t still be done.
Alonso played for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009 before departing to sign for Real Madrid
Liverpool’s owners FSG have, meanwhile, appointed an experienced sporting executive as the group prepares to begin the hunt for Klopp’s successor.
Theo Epstein will join FSG as ‘senior advisor’ and is set to oversee sporting matters for Liverpool, baseball franchise the Boston Red Sox, and the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL among others.
The 50-year-old spent nearly a decade as the Red Sox’s CEO, overseeing two World Series wins before enjoying further success at president of the Chicago Cubs between 2011 and 2020.
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