Gary Lineker has explained why he thinks Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso would be the “obvious replacement” for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
The Premier League giants are facing the difficult task of identifying a suitable replacement for Klopp, who has announced that he will leave the club at the end of this season.
Klopp is in his ninth season as Liverpool manager but he will depart in the summer with two years remaining on his current contract.
Leverkusen head coach Alonso is the current favourite to replace Klopp as he is doing a magnificent job with the Bundesliga side, who are unbeaten in the league and four points clear of second-placed Bayern Munich.
While Lineker thinks Alonso is the “obvious replacement” for Klopp, the BBC presenter has warned Liverpool that he will “also be in the thoughts of other clubs”.
“The obvious replacement, there could be a couple, is Xabi Alonso. The job he is doing at Bayer Leverkusen I imagine he will be in their thoughts,” Lineker said via The Rest is Football podcast.
“I think he will also be in the thoughts of other football clubs. He is very young in his managerial career, slightly inexperienced, but the job he is doing at Bayer Leverkusen could attract clubs like Bayern Munich because things are not going so well for them.
“It will be interesting who they go for because they will need someone to follow in the footsteps of Jurgen Klopp which is a tremendously difficult thing to do.”
During his press conference on Friday, Klopp was insistent that he will not have a say in who will replace him in the summer.
“No, why should I?” Klopp told reporters.
FEATURE: Who replaces Jurgen Klopp? Liverpool legends and Boot Room candidate lead top 10 contenders
“It looks like I do all the work but I
Read on football365.com