How Xabi Alonso feels about Liverpool return as Sky reporter shares what ‘sources’ have indicated
According to what one Sky Sports reporter has heard from ‘sources close to’ Xabi Alonso, the former Liverpool midfielder would be ‘more than happy’ to return to Anfield in the guise of head coach if the opportunity were to arise.
The 44-year-old was sacked by Real Madrid a fortnight ago and has been at the epicentre of speculation linking him with Arne Slot’s job ever since, with Jermaine Pennant believing that the incumbent boss is under ‘added pressure’ now that the Spaniard is available.
Scrutiny over the Dutchman’s position may have intensified after the Reds’ seventh Premier League defeat of the campaign at the weekend, although reliable journalist David Lynch recently stated that LFC would be highly reluctant to make a change in the dugout mid-season.
Nonetheless, the spectre of Alonso seems set to loom over the current Liverpool head coach for as long as results on the pitch suffer, and it’s now been claimed that the 2005 Champions League winner would jump at any opportunity to go back to Anfield.
Alonso ‘would be more than happy’ to go back to Liverpool
In an update on Sky Sports News on Monday lunchtime, Alan Irwin outlined: “It does seem strange that a Liverpool manager who won the league for them so convincingly is under pressure, but this club has very high standards indeed, and the Liverpool hierarchy may well be considering their options.
“Xabi Alonso’s name is constantly mentioned in these parts and sources close to him indicate he would be more than happy with a return to the club.”
Could Liverpool viably replace Slot with Alonso in the coming months?
If indeed it’s true that the Spaniard would be interested in taking the reins at Liverpool, that might give FSG something to contemplate in the months ahead.
This isn’t a mere case of bringing in a beloved former player to get the fans onside – Alonso has shown his managerial pedigree by leading Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten German double in 2023/24 and halting the Bayern Munich juggernaut after they’d won 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles.
At surface level, being jettisoned by Real Madrid after just seven months doesn’t look great, but the level of boardroom politics and media/fan scrutiny one must endure in the Bernabeu dugout is perhaps unparalleled in world football.
If Alonso were to be appointed as the next Liverpool head coach, whenever that may be, it’s a decision which’d surely be warmly welcomed by many Kopites.
The discourse over Slot is a divisive issue among the fan base – some feel that it’d be a knee-jerk reaction to dispense with the man who led us to Premier League glory only nine months ago; others believe the credit in the bank from that triumph has now run out and the time for change is now.
Our view is that the Dutchman ought to be given the remainder of this season to try and ensure Champions League qualification via domestic placing, along with going deep into that competition in the spring. Should he fail in that mission, the scrutiny over his future may reach a tipping point.
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