Neil Jones has urged Liverpool to ‘try’ hard for one ‘standout’ managerial candidate to take over from Jurgen Klopp.
Ever since the German announced last month that he’d be leaving Anfield at the end of this season, Xabi Alonso quickly became the favourite to succeed the 56-year-old, who even gave the seal of approval to the Bayer Leverkusen boss in recent days.
Speaking to EOTK Insider, the journalist voiced his belief that FSG must spare no effort in attempting to entice the Spaniard back to the club that he represented as a player for five years in the 2000s.
Jones said: “All signs do just point to one or two managers – I think Xabi is by far the standout candidate. Jurgen said it himself, noting that in the next generation of managers, Alonso is clearly the standout. Whether Liverpool can get him or not is the next question, but for me, I think it’s a no-brainer that they should try.”
Jones is quite right to implore Liverpool chiefs to push hard for Alonso, who’s the preferred candidate among many Reds supporters, and not just for his Anfield connections.
The 42-year-old’s already impressive stock rose even further a few days ago a few days ago when his Leverkusen side thrashed Bayern Munich 3-0 to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga, which has now gone out to eight points.
Indeed, there have been reports that the reigning German champions have him in mind as their next manager if they dispense with the under-pressure Thomas Tuchel, and it’s no surprise that multiple European giants are seemingly eyeing up the former Spain midfielder.
That could prompt FSG to step up their efforts to sway Alonso, one of the very few candidates who seems capable of replicating the impact that Klopp has made at Anfield.
We fully agree with Jones – Liverpool’s powerbrokers must do everything they can to try and lure the Leverkusen boss back to Merseyside. He can’t be allowed to slip away to another club with ease.