When Jürgen Klopp announced that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, there was a big panic from the Anfield faithful.
After all, replacing the German manager like for like is an impossible task, but one man was quickly identified as a good next step for the Reds in Xabi Alonso.
Rumours and reports have appeared aplenty since then, and while there is no guarantee that Liverpool will land the Spanish manager, Bayer Leverkusen are preparing for the worst case scenario, as explained by Kicker.
The Bundesliga side’s Managing Director of Sport, Simon Rolfes, has explained that while they want to keep Alonso, they know that if he wants to leave at the end of the season, there’s not a lot they can do about it.
He said: “You never have 100% security. If an executive wants to go to another club, what happens then? For example, if a Spanish club wants to sign Fernando Carro as CEO, and Carro wants to go there, then sooner or later there will be an agreement. The same would apply to the manager position.”
This is why there are plans in place at Leverkusen in case Alonso is lured away by the likes of Liverpool or Bayern Munich, the two current favourites.
That being said, Carro has made it clear they are currently planning the next campaign with Alonso in mind, although that apparently can change in an instant.
Kicker also look at the situation from Alonso’ point of view, explaining that even if Liverpool and Bayern were to choose someone else, he would be happy to stay where he is, at a club that fully believes in him.
Therefore, the Spaniard ‘will set the pace’ when it comes to where he will be manager next season, and that is ‘likely to take some time’ because he is ‘obviously not sure himself what his future looks like’.
