Ever since Jurgen Klopp made the shock announcement last month that he will depart Liverpool at the end of the season, the rumour mill has been swirling in an attempt to decipher who his replacement will be.
The leading contender thus far is Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, a club legend at Anfield in his playing days who has made a serious impression in the early stages of his coaching career.
The Spaniard played for five seasons on Merseyside, scoring in the iconic 2005 Champions League final comeback victory over AC Milan and becoming a firm fan favourite among the Liverpool fanbase.
Alonso has been patient in making the move into coaching and took over as manager of Leverkusen in October of 2022 - his first senior managerial job, over five years since retiring as a player. He has overseen a dramatic upturn in the club's fortunes. Having taken over with Bayer in the relegation zone, the side now lead the Bundesliga by five points and remain unbeaten after 21 games.
Their status as strong favourites for the title was solidified by a ruthless 3-0 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday afternoon, and they look set to become the first team to topple Bayern in the Bundesliga in 12 years.
It has been a remarkable rise for Alonso which has solidified his position as frontrunner to replace Klopp - but reports on Thursday suggest that he may have strangely opened up a new possible role for himself, which could sabotage Liverpool's hopes of landing their man.
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Bayern may look to sneak ahead of Liverpool in Xabi Alonso race
Bayer Leverkusen manager and ex-Liverpool and Bayern Munich player Xabi Alonso (Photo: Shutterstock)
As Bayern Munich continue to falter, it seems increasingly likely that manager Thomas Tuchel will step aside at the end of the season - if not sooner.
Not only do Bayer Leverkusen look likely to become the first side since Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund to beat Bayern to the league title, but the Bavarians' Champions League campaign is hanging by a thread after defeat to Lazio in the last 16 first leg on Wednesday.
The Times reported on Thursday that Bayern are now likely to part ways with Tuchel come the summer - and their prime target to replace him is none other than Xabi Alonso.
Alonso spent the final three seasons of his career with Bayern, playing under Pep Guardiola from 2014 to 2017, meaning that he also has a connection with his latest suitors.
It would be a major coup if Bayern were not only to swoop in under Liverpool's noses to entice Alonso to take over but also if they were to manage to pull off such a steal from their direct Bundesliga rivals.
Strangely, Xabi Alonso's success in (seemingly) toppling Bayern Munich could potentially see Liverpool miss out on their man.
As of this week, he remains the favourite to take over from Jurgen Klopp, with Roberto de Zerbi, Pep Lijnders, and Julian Nagelsmann all also tracking well with the bookies.
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