As Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield exit edges closer and closer as the season draws to a close, Liverpool remain on the hunt for a new manager to lead them forward from next season onwards.
Liverpool fans will soon have to learn how to live life without Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout, as the legendary German manager will leave his post at the end of the 2023/24 season.
The 56-year-old is aiming to go out with a bang by lifting the Premier League title for just the second time across his nine-year tenure with the club, whilst they are also into the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
While Klopp continues to take charge of matters on the field, speculation among members of the media over his successor has seen countless elite European coaches linked with the job, including several current English top flight managers.
With the season approaching its climax, it’s almost decision for the Reds hierarchy, and we at SportsLens are taking a look at the top five managerial candidates who are being touted to potentially take over at Liverpool.
Comparing Liverpool’s Managerial Candidates
5. Pep Lijnders
Like Klopp, assistant-manager Pep Lijnders is set to depart Liverpool at the end of the current season, however that hasn’t stopped the Dutchman from being named a candidate to take over the managerial role at the club.
Lijnders has spend the best part of 10 years at Anfield, first joining in 2014 under Brendan Rodgers, and continuing as Klopp’s assistant between 2015 and 2017, as well as from 2018 onwards.
His impressive spell at the club has seen him enjoy and endure all the highs and the lows alongside the current manager, in which he has helped the club win the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
There may be no one more compatible than Lijnders to ensure Klopp’s philosophy and style is maintained on Merseyside after spending almost nine years learning from the German, however his lack of experience in first team management makes him somewhat of an unattractive candidate.
His only managerial role in senior football to date came when he left Liverpool in January 2018, when he linked up with Dutch second-tier side NEC Nijmegen, just to be sacked four-and-a-half months later after failing to gain promotion to the Eredivisie via the play-offs.
Lijnders is expected to relaunch his foray into first-team management when he leaves at the end of the season, and although unlikely, he has hinted that he would love to come back to manage the Reds one day.
4. Xabi Alonso
When Klopp announced his intention to leave Liverpool at the end of the season, there was only one name that fans had on their lips as a potential successor. That name was, of course, Bayer Leverkusen manager and ex-Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso.
It’s safe to say Alonso is working wonders at Leverkusen in Western Germany, as they are on the verge of pipping Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title, which would make them the first side to do so since Borussia Dortmund in 2011/12.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough as is, but they are doing so without losing a game, with their current record standing at 23 wins and four draws from 27 league matches.
They are also into the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal, in which they face Fortuna Dusseldorf, as well as the Europa League quarter-finals, where they’ll face West Ham United, therefore a treble-winning campaign is genuinely on the cards.
Like Liverpool, Alonso’s German top flight leaders can score from various areas of the pitch. Typically fielding a 3-4-3 formation, the wing-backs are a key element to his side, much like Klopp’s full-backs, with both Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo starring both defensively and offensively this term.
This was particularly evident in the 3-0 battering of Bayern back in February, in which their fluid, attacking style of play saw both Grimaldo and Frimpong score from wide areas, as well as second-choice right-wing back Josip Stanisic.
Alonso’s current win percentage with Leverkusen stands at an incredible 67.11% after less than two full seasons, higher than that of Klopp’s which currently sits at 61.3% after close to 500 games with the Reds.
Despite looking like the perfect managerial candidate to take the reins from Klopp having spent five years of his playing career at Anfield too, Alonso has confirmed that he intends to remain with Leverkusen for at least another season, much to the dismay of the Liverpool faithful.
3. Julian Nagelsmann
The third favourite among bookmakers to become the next Liverpool manager is current Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who was sacked by Bayern Munich in March 2023.
Nagelsmann’s dismissal was judged as harsh by many at the time, and that looks to be even more valid now given the club’s current situation.
At the time, his side boasted a perfect record in the Champions League group stages with six wins from six against Inter Milan, Barcelona and Viktoria Plzen, while they sat just one point shy of Bundesliga leaders Dortmund. His overall win percentage with the club when sacked was an impressive 71.43%, with only Pep Guardiola, Hansi Flick and Carlo Ancelotti averaging higher.
The DFB snatched him up fairly quickly after his Bavarian exit, as in September 2023 he was announced as the new head coach of the German national team until after the European Championship, coincidentally matching the timeframe in which Liverpool need to appoint their new manager.
Nagelsmann is known for his possession based style of play and for his versatility when it comes to changing formations. He has also implemented gegenpressing into his playstyle, something which Klopp is famed for, a style in which his side immediately attempts to regain the ball after losing possession, rather than falling back to regroup.
2. Roberto De Zerbi
Premier League fans will be well aware of the second favourite to take over at Anfield, as that is Brighton & Hove Albion’s Italian manager Roberto De Zerbi.
De Zerbi succeeded Graham Potter on the south coast and led the club to a first ever European qualification after a sixth place finish last season, booking their spot in the 2023/24 edition of the Europa League.
The Seagulls haven’t quite lived up to that standard this term, exiting Europe’s second tier competition in the round-of-16, while they currently occupy ninth place in the English top flight table after a string of inconsistent results.
Despite this, his style of play is an entertaining, possession-based, high press one that almost always promises goals. His appointment would undoubtedly continue to keep the Kop faithful entertained, with Klopp previously praising De Zerbi’s style of play, and describing him as a “top coach”.
“I couldn’t coach that, it goes against my personality” 🗣️
Jurgen Klopp says Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is a “top coach” and praises his team’s style of football ahead of the match on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. pic.twitter.com/3rpAJntjGJ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 29, 2024
44-year-old De Zerbi, who boasts a 46.25% win percentage at Brighton at present, has added even further fuel to the fire surrounding his status at the Amex by casting doubt over his long-term future with the club.
“I have a different way to decide my future.” he said in a press conference.
“I want to speak with my club, I have a contract but the problem is not the contract – the problem is to find the same plan, the same target, the same vision for the future.
“For me, I have not decided yet what is my future, because I have the contract, but anyway I want to speak with Tony (Bloom), my club, to understand their plan, to understand his plan, the Tony plan. Then we take the decision together, without problems.
1. Ruben Amorim
The bookmakers’ current favourite managerial candidate to take over from Klopp at Liverpool is highly-rated young Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim, who has a reported €20million buyout clause.
Similarly to Alonso, Amorim typically deploys a front-footed 3-4-3 formation with attacking wing-backs. His style of play sees his players adopt an intense press, while they also attempt to snatch the ball back in the final third, which is unquestionably compatible with Liverpool’s philosophy.
His Sporting side are currently enjoying an excellent campaign, as they sit top of the Liga Portugal by a point. If they are able to maintain their position at the summit for the remainder of the season, they will lift the title for the 20th time in their history, and for the first time since 2020/21.
If the Reds decide to go all out for Amorim, they could face competition for his signature. Reports have linked the Portuguese coach with Manchester United, who could part ways with Erik ten Hag, while Tottenham have been linked in the past, however they are now settled with Ange Postecoglou.
Amorim, whose win percentage sits at 69.71% with his current club, was asked by reporters about the rumours linking him with a move to Anfield, to which he responded by saying that he is “very happy” at Sporting.
“Right now, I’m focused on Sporting. I’m very proud to be Sporting’s coach. We’re focused on winning titles,
“You’ll see in the end. I have a contract and I’m very happy here. That’s the most important thing, more than contracts, I’m very happy here.
“The focus is on beating Benfica in the Portuguese Cup.”
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