Xabi Alonso is leaning towards staying with Bundesliga champions elect Bayer Leverkusen for at least another season, a blow to Liverpool’s hopes of naming him as their next manager
Liverpool will have to fork out a cool £12.8million if they want to make Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi their next manager.
The Reds have learned that most talked-about target Xabi Alonso is now leaning towards staying at Bayer Leverkusen for at least another season, ruling him out of the race to succeed Jurgen Klopp. His Leverkusen side are 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table with just eight games to go, having gone unbeaten for the entire season so far in all competitions.
Given that he could potentially have a treble on his CV come June, Alonso is arguably Europe’s most sought-after manager, especially aged 42. But like fellow admirers Bayern Munich, Liverpool are now being forced to look elsewhere for their next boss and De Zerbi has emerged as a leading candidate for both clubs.
Brighton aren’t willing to let him go on the cheap, however, with the Premier League side likely to demand his full €15m (£12.8m) release clause should the Italian want desire to leave, just like the £21.5m they received in Graham Potter’s exit to Chelsea. De Zerbi, 44, is also being eyed by Barcelona, who are limited when it comes to how much they can spend but remain interested in a move.
Liverpool, like Bayern, are expected to be more flexible but the fee is still a costly sum and would count towards their financial fair play calculations. Should the Reds decide not to pursue the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach, then Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim is another alternative to Alonso.
The highly-rated Portuguese coach won the league title with Sporting in his first full season, 2020-21, and is still only 39. De Zerbi is proven in the Premier League, though, giving him an advantage.
Liverpool’s next manager will be decided by Michael Edwards – the club’s former sporting director who now works for owners Fenway Sports Group as their CEO of football – and newly-appointed sporting director Richard Hughes, who arrived from Bournemouth and is reportedly a fan of De Zerbi’s.
Your turn! Should Liverpool pay up for Roberto De Zerbi? Let us know your stance in the comments section.
The Brighton boss recently said when asked about Liverpool’s interest: “When I hear the big teams are interested in me, it’s an honour, but my focus is on my work day by day.
“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.”
De Zerbi has the chance to impress Liverpool’s hierarchy on Sunday when he takes Brighton up to Anfield for a 2pm kick-off. Liverpool would go top of the Premier League table with a win, although could be back in second if there’s a winner between Manchester City and Arsenal a few hours later.
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