Five Jürgen Klopp Liverpool replacements examined: Xabi Alonso strong favourite

Jürgen Klopp sent shockwaves around football by announcing his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season on Friday morning. Klopp arrived at Anfield in 2015 from Borussia Dortmund and he's had a transformative effect on the club’s fortunes. The German is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world and he won his first Champions League in 2019 - Liverpool’s sixth time winning the biggest European trophy. Klopp emulated that achievement in the following season when he led Liverpool to their first English title in 30 years to consolidate his legendary status.

But Klopp has made the difficult decision to leave Liverpool and he explained his decision to supporters in an emotional statement. He said: ““I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take. “It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy. I have no problem now, obviously, I knew already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again”. Replacing Klopp will be a massive challenge as he enjoyed incredible success at Liverpool with an impressive points per game record. But speculation will quickly turn towards his replacement and we’ve assessed five potential candidates.

Five potential Jurgen Klopp replacements at Liverpool assessed 

Considering his years of success as a player at Anfield, it makes perfect sense to line Xabi Alonso up as the natural successor to Klopp at the end of this season. The young head coach has been earning his stripes in the Bundesliga, where he has built a team capable of challenging Bayern Munich for the German top-flight title. Liverpool fans will also be licking their lips at Alonso’s record in European competition, where he was a whisker away from taking Bayer Leverkusen to the Europa League final in his first season at the club.

The only barrier to Alonso joining Liverpool next season is whether the young manager wants to depart Leverkusen so soon and if he is holding out on a move to Real Madrid - one of the few clubs that can rival and surpass Liverpool in appeal for the young manager. The former issue may be resolved should Alonso take Leverkusen to league success in May, but the latter may prove to be a serious obstacle to the Anfield club signing Alonso next season.

Roberto de Zerbi is one of the brightest young coaches around and he’s made a tremendous impact at Brighton. Many questioned whether De Zerbi could emulate his predecessor Graham Potter’s achievements - Potter’s name will also unquestionably be linked to the Liverpool vacancy - but De Zerbi has taken Brighton to the next level. The 44-year-old led the Seagulls to a sixth placed finish last season to qualify for European football for the first time in their history. Brighton reached the knockout stages of the Europa League and they're challenging for a European spot again this campaign. Brighton have continued to punch above their weight under De Zerbi, but they also play really attractive football with the Italian one of the most interesting tacticians in European football. Critics will point to De Zerbi’s first two jobs in management at Palermo and Benevento as black marks and the Liverpool job would represent a significant step-up for the eccentric coach. 

Julian Nagelsmann only penned a short-term deal with Germany and he’s expected to depart after Euro 2024. An interesting subplot is that the DFB dreamed of appointing Klopp as national team manager and that might prove attractive after his departure from Liverpool due to the less hectic nature of the role. Nagelsmann remains an ambitious young coach with aspirations of returning to club management and Liverpool could provide a good fit. Nagelemann developed his reputation as forward-thinking coach at Hoffenheim to earn a move to RB Leipzig before ending up at Bayern Munich. The 36-year-old won the double in his first season at Bayern but he was sacked towards the end of his second after exiting the DFB-Pokal Cup and Champions League in quick succession. Many viewed Nagelsmann’s dismissal as harsh but he will have learned from that experience. Still incredibly young for a manager, Nagelsmann is an innovative tactician and he represents an intriguing candidate.

Ange Postecoglou has made no secret of the fact that he grew up as a massive Liverpool supporter, with the Anfield club having a massive influence on his managerial style. In 2013, he revealed: “I grew up supporting Liverpool as well and I guess the reason I’m a manager today is because of the football club.I grew up with the stories of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and the Boot Room, Ronnie Moran, Joe Fagan, Roy Evans, all those guys. That kind of philosophy has stayed with me. They were playing possession football before it was trendy in the world.” Postecoglou has already had a transformative effect at Tottenham Hotspur since joining in the summer, changing the mood around the club and implementing an exciting style of play. The Australian has won trophies consistently across his career and the demands to win at Liverpool are similar to what he experienced at Celtic. While Postecoglou undoubtedly has the personality to become Liverpool manager, will the opportunity arrive too soon? It’s a legitimate argument that he needs more time to prove himself in English football. Postecoglou also might be unwilling to depart Spurs so quickly into his tenure and Daniel Levy will certainly make any potential departure difficult.

Thomas Tuchel may seem like an odd candidate for Liverpool, considering his role as Bayern Munich head coach, but that could quickly change between now and the end of the season. The German tactician hasn’t enjoyed a joyous return to his hometown and currently trails Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title race, with a team made up of aging and out-of-form stars. That has led some at Bayern to question his suitability for the role, but could equally lead to Tuchel wondering whether he’d be better suited at another club next season. Failing to win the Bundesliga with Bayern is unquestionably a black mark on any manager’s record, but Liverpool may choose to look at Tuchel’s success at Chelsea - where he is still adored by the fans - to make what could be a crude move in the summer. Tuchel did once succeed Klopp before at Borussia Dortmund and may prove to be the best option once again.