An update from Fabrizio Romano may yet offer hope to Liverpool fans that Xabi Alonso could potentially still be our manager from next season.
On Monday, Sky Germany reported that Bayern Munich had ‘opened discussions’ with the Bayer Leverkusen boss regarding their managerial vacancy, news which seemed to represent a significant setback to the Reds’ pursuit of the 42-year-old.
However, in his latest Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, the Italian insisted that the former Anfield midfielder remains fully focused on his current club, adding that ‘nothing is done’ with any prospective suitor.
Romano outlined: “We know Xabi Alonso is one of the names appreciated by Bayern, but how is all the speculation about the manager affecting his current club Bayer Leverkusen? Of course they are not happy with speculation, but it’s also part of the game.
“I can guarantee that Bayer and Xabi himself are 100% focused on this season, to make something historical, and at the moment we can see it’s not having a damaging effect on their form, which remains outstanding.
“Remember, nothing is done yet with Alonso and any other club precisely because Leverkusen are focused on winning titles, and it’s the same for Alonso.”
When Sky reported earlier this week that Bayern had opened talks with Alonso, it may have come as a big blow to Liverpool fans who feared that the Munich giants had surged ahead in the chase for the Leverkusen boss.
However, Romano’s update suggests that things haven’t progressed quite that far as of yet, and that none of the 42-year-old’s prospective suitors have made any significant advances for him while his focus is geared entirely on his team’s procession towards a first-ever Bundesliga title.
Nonetheless, the luxury of time is in ever-shorter supply for the Anfield hierarchy, with Die Werkself looking increasingly likely to be crowned champions with several matches to spare, and still no sign of a new sporting director on Merseyside to oversee the appointment of Jurgen Klopp’s eventual replacement.
It seems that Alonso’s future could be a topic of discussion for another few weeks yet, and that Liverpool may still have a realistic chance of hiring him, so long as they don’t dither with other crucial backroom hires and allow Bayern in to beat them to the punch.