Danny Murphy has backed Steven Gerrard or Xabi Alonso to compete for the Liverpool manager’s job when Jurgen Klopp ends his career at Anfield.
The German’s current contract won’t expire until 2026, it must be said, and it seems unlikely that he will cut his stay short.
“I think Steven Gerrard or Xabi Alonso could manage Liverpool, absolutely, yes,” the Englishman told Fair Betting Sites (via Liverpool Echo).
“I don’t think any of them have done enough to warrant that. I don’t think there’s a Liverpool fan on the planet, regardless of the start of the season, who would even be thinking about a possible trade with Klopp. I don’t see that at all.
“I think it’s a great couple of seasons for Stevie at Villa to show his credentials, implement his style. It’s been a bit of ups and downs for him at Villa. He’s probably the first to say that, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“I think Alonso is more in the infancy of his managerial career. So, you know, that’s hard to anticipate. I know he had a good first win, but in terms of the stature of him among Liverpool fans and the legacy they have left behind, it would be foolish not to think that one of them could one day be in the Anfield dugout.”
As the legendary former Reds midfield captain, there is a fairytale attraction to the now Aston Villa boss’s ‘homecoming’ to lead his former team to even greater glory.
Worryingly, of course, the Scouser find themselves in a troubled spot with the Villans, who are languishing near the relegation zone in 16th place and record the second-lowest goals scored in the English top flight.
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Should Gerrard or Alonso be considered serious contenders?
Things, of course, could change in the blink of an eye, although it’s telling that Sky’s odds have Gerrard as the most likely (4/5) head coach in the Premier League to receive his P45 after the Wolves fired Bruno Lage. .
We are crossing our fingers that the Champions League winner can find a way out of his current situation, which could prove more than detrimental to his potential chances of replacing Klopp in the future.
Alonso, on the other hand, remains comparatively untested in the management game, having just been given his first major role at Bayer Leverkusen.
Hopefully things will work out for both of us when it comes time to fill our German tactician’s sizable boots.
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