Liverpool is in the market for a new manager ahead of the summer following Jürgen Klopp’s surprise decision to depart and take a break two years before the end of his Anfield contract expires. And Xabi Alonso would appear to be a logical contender for the vacancy.
The Bayer Leverkusen boss, who played for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009 before signing for Spanish giant Real Madrid, has impressed hugely in his short managerial career so far. Alonso’s side won again this weekend to maintain a two-point lead over Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings.
But according to the Daily Mirror, if Liverpool does pick Alonso — and the Spaniard chooses to move to the Premier League — Manchester United would be impacted. It could have a knock-on effect for Erik ten Hag.
The Manchester United boss could be targeted by Leverkusen as Ten Hag’s replacement. And while it would appear to be a strange move to leave the Old Trafford side, the Dutchman is supposedly unhappy with the limited budget that he is working with.
Because of Financial Fair Play restrictions, Manchester United’s summer plans could be disrupted. And that could mean Ten Hag being tempted by a move away.
“It’s not a secret that I wanted a striker extra,” Ten Hag said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s game against West Ham. “Because with the injury of [Anthony] Martial, we don’t really have back-up there, but it was not possible because we have to match the Financial Fair Play rules.”
So far, Leverkusen and Alonso have been dealing well with the pressure of competing with Bayern Munich. “Bayern is always Bayern, so to beat them you have to beat them not once, [but] twice or three times,” Alonso said after his side beat Darmstadt on Saturday. “But before that, we have the Pokal game [against Stuttgart on Tuesday] that is a big one for us We want to keep going — let’s see how far, but we don’t want to stop.”
