Klopp to leave Liverpool: Four possible replacements in 2024

Robin Bairner

4 Mar 2022 11:23 CST
4 min read

Klopp downplays need for Liverpool defensive signings in January — © ProShots

Jurgen Klopp has been the centrepiece of Liverpool’s rise to become a Premier League superpower once again.

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Alongside Manchester City, the Reds have been a dominant force in English and European football over the course of the last five years, largely thanks to the clever squad building of the former Mainz and Borussia Dortmund boss.

However, Klopp is preparing to leave Liverpool in 2024, when his present deal expires.

When asked about it in a press conference on Friday, he said: “The plan is still the same. Nothing has changed and if I decide to leave in 2024, it’ll be nothing to do with the quality of the squad. All we do is for the long term. This club must be even better when I am not here anymore.”

But who is going to take over from him? Here are four possible solutions.

Graham Potter

Presently in charge of Brighton, Potter has reached the Premier League via a circuitous route. After a journeyman career, he went into management with Ostersund in Sweden before moving to Swansea and, eventually, Brighton.

He has been praised for the style of football that he has implemented on the south coast. While clubs such as Albion are typically dour and defensive, Potter’s team is stylish and has won him plaudits. Crucially, they have been punching consistently above their weight since he took charge.

Julian Nagelsmann

A host of German coaches will inevitably be linked with the Liverpool job when Klopp leaves, and there is no brighter young star than Bayern Munich boss Nagelsmann. Aged just 34, he has already been in top jobs for more than five years, having taken charge initially of Hoffenheim in 2016 before moving to Leipzig a couple of years later.

If Bayern continue their domestic dominance between now and 2024, it would be a logical time for him to move on.

“My opposite number – Julian Nagelsmann – is one of the most exciting, innovative and adventurous coaches in world football,” Klopp told the official Liverpool website last year before a Champions League match with Leipzig.

“He rightly has many admirers. I am absolutely towards the top of that list.

Bo Svensson

Just as Thomas Tuchel followed in Klopp’s footsteps at Mainz, Bo Svensson is seeking to do the same. And it appears that in the 42-year-old Dane, the Bundesliga side have unearthed another gem.

Svensson has the club punching above their weight in the Bundesliga this season, scoring plenty of goals and conceding far fewer. He has shown himself to be a manager of promise and if this continues over the next two years, he could be a contender for the Anfield post.

Pep Lijnders

Perhaps the most logical candidate to take over from Klopp is already at Liverpool. Pep Lijnders has been one of the manager’s right-hand men since he arrived at the club, albeit he had six months away in charge of NEC in the Netherlands.

Things don’t always go smoothly when a No.2 steps up to take the top job, but such is Liverpool’s unique culture at present, they could not be blamed for going for the continuation candidate.

At just 39, Lijnders has both the time and energy to take Liverpool forward when Klopp ultimately leaves.