Almost two months on from Jurgen Klopp’s announcement that he’s leaving Liverpool, and the Reds still don’t have a successor in place.
Given that their top target is Xabi Alonso – a man who’s having the season of his life with Bayer Leverkusen – that may not be a surprise. In the midst of an historic campaign, Alonso remains focused on his current club.
When the curtain comes down though, Xabi is going to have a decision to make. Does he join Liverpool or Bayern Munich, or does he shun them both and stay at Leverkusen? He’s going to have to make that call very soon.
In the very possible event that the Spaniard does choose to remain in Germany, Liverpool have to have a succession plan in place. Thankfully, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Reds do still have some other options.
“In terms of other names, for example another one who’s really appreciated in England and also in Liverpool is Ruben Amorim, Sporting manager, doing very well in Portugal,” the journalist told the JD Football YouTube channel.
“He has a release clause for 30 millions Euros, so it’s not going to be an easy one,” he added. “We know with Portuguese clubs when there’s a clause it’s always difficult to negotiate. But Ruben Amorim is a very good one appreciated in England, so I would keep an eye on him.”
Liverpool target Amorim and one more
Amorim looks like being a great coach and would certainly be our alternative choice to Alonso.
But he isn’t the only manager reportedly still in Liverpool’s sights. Continuing his conversation with JD Football, Romano named Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi as another continuing to be in the frame.
“Another name I’d include on a potential list is Roberto de Zerbi,” says the journalist. “He’s doing very well at Brighton, many clubs are keeping a close eye on his situation.
“From what I’m hearing there is release clause also in this case, it’s something around 13 million. Let’s see if Liverpool will go for him, at the moment it’s not something concrete, I still believe they will try for Xabi Alonso until the end.”
If the choice is between Alonso and Amorim, we’re going for Alonso. If it’s either Amorim or De Zerbi, then it’s an even easier choice. It simply cannot be the Brighton manager.
The only thing really working in De Zerbi’s favour here is that he has more experience than either of the other two coaches. Both in terms of Premier League grounding and his years on the touchline, the Italian is the clear leader.
But that aside, De Zerbi has shown nothing over the past season or so to suggest that he’s ready to make the step up to Liverpool.
So, while we’re confident that either Alonso or Amorim will eventually take the helm, this does make us slightly nervous. If it ends up being De Zerbi we’d be right behind him of course. But it’s plain to see that he should very much be third on this list of three.