Michael Edwards has been forced to look elsewhere for Jurgen Klopp’s replacement at Liverpool after hitting a dead end with Xabi Alonso.
Alonso is steering Bayer Leverkusen towards their first Bundesliga title this season and has made it clear he wants to stay, rather than jump ship for Liverpool or Bayern Munich. The former midfielder’s success with Leverkusen and connection with the Reds made him an obvious choice to replace Klopp at the end of the season, but Liverpool believe there is little chance of luring him back to Merseyside.
Liverpool’s former sporting director Edwards is leading the search after joining the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, as CEO of football earlier this month. He has hired Richard Hughes from Bournemouth to become Liverpool’s sporting director – and the duo now have a task on their hands to find the best available manager.
The duo will use a data-led approach to whittle down the options and two names will be prominent in their new shortlist: Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi and Ruben Amorim of Sporting Lisbon. Both have been mentioned in dispatches since Klopp announced his intentions in January and they will be sounded out in the coming weeks.
De Zerbi joined Brighton back in September 2022 and has impressed with his forward-thinking approach and tactical acumen. The Italian is under contract until June 2026 and Brighton have considered protecting themselves further by giving him a new deal.
The Seagulls have proven themselves to be shrewd operators in recent years, earning huge fees for managers and players when they’ve left. They received £21.5m when Graham Potter and his staff moved to Chelsea and De Zerbi would follow a similar pattern, with a cost of around £12.8million attached to the 44-year-old.
He is happy at Brighton, who are eighth in the Premier League, but has been linked with Barcelona – who need to replace Xavi this summer – as well as Liverpool. Speaking about his future recently, he said: “When I hear the big teams are interested in me, it’s an honour, but my focus is on my work day by day.
“About the future? I want to compete in the best way I can, I want to understand the plan and then it’s not a problem to work at a big team. I would like in my career to compete to win the Premier League, Serie A, the Bundesliga, Champions League – but there isn’t a time when [I] have to go.”
