It was a surreal and seismic day for Liverpool FC. Jürgen Klopp is leaving in May but the celebrating of his Anfield tenure and the questions about what comes next are all still to come.
The Reds have done well to keep the news under wraps since last November and the structure is there that Klopp leaves behind for whoever succeeds him, but the German will depart as a huge loss. Liverpool will need to get its next appointment right but whoever comes in will have a hell of a lot to live up to.
He says he won’t take another job for at least another year — and maybe never again — but the Germany vacancy after the summer is surely one that makes sense for him. To be back in his homeland with his family but also still in football seems to add up.
There suddenly feels like a huge hole has been left at Liverpool, though Klopp and his coaching staff will not be going anywhere until the end of the season. But what comes next?
Obvious list of replacements emerge
Klopp will be almost impossible to replace but there are some names that will be clearly linked. Given that Liverpool has known about Klopp’s decision to leave for around three months, the process will already have begun.
Xabi Alonso is surely one leading contender given his excellent work at Bayer Leverkusen while Julian Nagelsmann should be under consideration and Roberto De Zerbi is another who has plenty of admirers. But more names are likely to be looked at as well with an extensive search to follow.
Celebration of Klopp’s tenure
Already, Klopp has made attempts to tell the Liverpool supporters that he does not want the remainder of this season to be about him. Yet it just so clearly will be, starting on Sunday against Norwich City.
Will Anfield be alive with his song and that extra bit emotional for the rest of the campaign? Absolutely it will be. Klopp might not want things to be about him, but it could give his side an edge if controlled in the right manner.
All change at Anfield
As well as Klopp leaving, it was announced that Jörg Schmadtke will be departing at the end of January. He arrived in 2023 and over a summer of largely Bundesliga-based transfers.
Schmadtke was someone that Klopp knew well and it makes sense that they are departing at a similar time, albeit a few months apart. It also makes sense that Liverpool will have a more permanent fix as sporting director as the new manager comes in. Doing both at once is in some ways a risk, but it would be best to have the overarching position in place before appointing a new coach.
It remains to be seen who the candidates are for either role, but things are changing at Liverpool. It is very much the end of one era and potentially the start of another exciting one with a group of players that Klopp leaves behind.
