Five possible replacements for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 26 Jan 2024 12:02 GMT
• 5 min read

Jurgen Klopp has announced that he will be stepping down as Liverpool manager at the end of the 2023-24 season.

The 56-year-old has been in charge at Anfield since October 2015, and he has decided to call it quits after eight-and-a-half years at the club.

Klopp will remain in the dugout until the current campaign ends, before leaving the Reds ahead of the 2024-25 season.

The Liverpool boss confirmed his decision in a video posted on the club’s social media channels, while he also revealed that he informed the Reds of his decision back in November.

As a result, they have already had over two months to start planning for Klopp’s departure.

A number of different names have been floated as possible successors to Klopp at Anfield and FootballTransfers have listed five potential replacements that Liverpool could appoint.

Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen)

Xabi Alonso is considered to be the current favourite to replace Klopp at Liverpool. The Bayer Leverkusen head coach is one of the most exciting young managers in world football and he spent five years at Anfield as a player, winning the Champions League with the club in 2005.

Alonso has a history with Liverpool, which automatically makes him a more likely candidate, while he is an outstanding manager in his own right.

His favoured 3-4-3 system would be a stark difference to Klopp’s preferred 4-3-3, but Alonso has guided Leverkusen to top spot in the Bundesliga and they remain unbeaten in the German top flight this season.

They also won all six of their Europa League group stage games and are tipped to go far in that competition.

Alonso is one of the very best managers in the world and Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to extend his stay as Real Madrid manager means a move to Liverpool is the logical next step if he decides to leave Leverkusen.

He was even tipped to replace Klopp by his former Liverpool team-mate Boudewijn Zenden back in November.

Roberto De Zerbi (Brighton)

Roberto De Zerbi has made waves since his appointment at Brighton & Hove Albion in September 2022, with many believing he is bound to become Pep Guardiola’s replacement at Manchester City when the Spaniard eventually leaves.

However, Liverpool could steal a march and appoint the Italian as their Klopp successor.

De Zerbi guided Brighton to European football for the first time in their history last season and safely navigated their path through the Europa League group stage despite several injury issues.

The Seagulls are not as formidable as last year, following the departures of Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Levi Colwill, but De Zerbi continues to impress, and his ability to develop individual players is amazing.

Danny Murphy and Paulo Di Canio both believe De Zerbi is the perfect next Liverpool manager.

Thomas Tuchel (Bayern Munich)

When Julian Nagelsmann was sacked by Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga giants quickly turned to Thomas Tuchel, who was available after his Chelsea exit.

However, the ex-Borussia Dortmund head coach hasn’t fared particularly well since arriving at the Allianz Arena.

They only just won the Bundesliga title on the final day of last season after a Dortmund slip-up and a late winner from Jamal Musiala, while they are currently trailing Leverkusen in the title race this year.

If Tuchel is unable to turn things around on the domestic front or launch a Champions League assault, then he may find himself sacked once more.

As a result, he could become an option for Liverpool. His predecessor at Bayern, Nagelsmann, is also an option, but he was only appointed as Germany manager in late 2023.

Ruben Amorim (Sporting)

Ruben Amorim has been heavily linked with a Premier League move for over a year now, but he remains in charge at Sporting CP.

The 38-year-old is still extremely young, but it seems as though it’s about time he is rewarded with a big job on the European scene.

Tottenham Hotspur were linked before they appointed Ange Postecoglou and Liverpool could finally hand Amorim a chance in the English top flight.

It would be a slight risk given his lack of top-level coaching experience, but that hasn’t proven to be a problem for Postecoglou at Spurs and that will give Liverpool hope.

Pepijn Lijnders (Liverpool)

The fifth and final option on our list is current Liverpool assistant head coach Pepijn Lijnders. The Dutchman has managed the Reds on a number of occasions in Klopp’s absence and while he has stated that he is leaving the club this summer too, he could well be tempted with the promise of becoming Liverpool’s next manager.

Lijnders is departing to pursue a career in management and staying at Anfield could be an option if he’s offered the head coach job.

It would be very risky, but Mikel Arteta has proven that assistant managers can become excellent managers in their own right.