Jurgen Klopp’s decision to step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the 2023-24 season means one of the most high-profile jobs in football management is now available.
Although Liverpool began planning for Klopp’s announcement in November, there is no successor in sight yet. They also plan to appoint a new sporting director before making a final decision on who will take over as technical director.
The following are some of the frontrunners to become Liverpool’s new manager and therefore take charge at the start of the 2024-25 Premier League season.
Xabi Alonso – 4/7
He looks like an early favorite. He is a hugely popular former Liverpool player and has excelled this season as manager of Bayern Leverkusen, who have an excellent chance of ending Bayern Munich’s stranglehold on the Bundesliga. Operating with a fraction of the budget of Germany’s biggest club, Leverkusen play scintillating football and sit at the top of the table by four points.
The 42-year-old knows what makes Liverpool stand out as a city and a football club and he certainly has the energy and personality to follow Klopp. Maybe there are concerns about his inexperience on the bench, but everything he touched in Germany turned to gold. He looks a bit like Klopp in his Borussia Dortmund days.
Roberto De Zerbi – 5/1
He has done a fantastic job at Brighton and has played some of the most attractive football in the Premier League. He is a great manager who develops his players and will definitely move to a club that does not have to sell its best players every summer.
De Zerbi also had success in Italy and Shakhtar Donetsk before moving to England and at 44 he has plenty of experience. So, could he be this effective in an elite club with extra attention and pressure? Things did not go well at Chelsea for Graham Potter, who was equally successful at Brighton.
Pep Lijnders – 8/1
Considering how long he has been on Jürgen Klopp’s coaching staff and how he has been more prominent in terms of media duties this season, he could be a continuity candidate.
However, when Klopp announced he would leave at the end of the season, Lijnders said he would also resign, so FSG needed to persuade him to change his mind. The Dutchman spent less than a year in his only managerial job at NEC in the Netherlands.
Ange Postecoglou – 10/1
The very thought of this will send shivers down the spine of any Tottenham Hotspur fan, given the transformative impact he has had on the club since arriving from Celtic in the summer.
The 58-year-old has had a long and winding road to reach the Premier League but he has a track record of winning trophies and how he turned Tottenham around despite losing Harry Kane to Bayern Munich means he is thriving in that regard. If there is any indication that he might want to leave Spurs so quickly, he is likely to be in demand from all top-flight clubs.
There’s no indication that the Australian is the type of character to leave a club so soon after arriving, but then again, the chance to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world doesn’t come along every day.
Ruben Amorim – 12/1
He was not on the initial list of foreign managers who could be on Liverpool’s radar, but the 39-year-old is a hot asset in Portugal and details of his £17m release clause are already available at Sporting Lisbon. He has been playing for Sporting for four years. Despite the years, he played for local rivals Benfica and won the championship once.
His team are also top of the league this season, but appointing him as Klopp’s successor still poses a risk given the size of the shoes he has to fill.
Julian Nagelsmann – 12/1
The player, who is only 36 years old and made a name for himself in Hoffenheim and went to the Champions League, also achieved success in RB Leipzig and won the league championship twice with Bayern Munich.
As manager of the German national team, he is having a difficult time due to poor results and the fact that he has never worked outside that country. His star has fallen a bit in recent years but he may still retain some appeal given his previous work with the clubs.
Unai Sandpaper – 12/1
As a result of his excellent work at Aston Villa, he is a clear candidate to become the manager of the season. He also has plenty of trophies to point to on his CV and will certainly have admirers in Liverpool’s corridors of power, something that would have been unthinkable when he was sacked by Arsenal in 2019.
He could be one of the dark horses for the job as he has the pedigree on paper. Villa would hate to lose him but will Liverpool’s interest turn his head?
Zinedine Zidane – 14/1
Is there a top job in European football that Zidane hasn’t been linked to in recent years? He enjoyed great success at Real Madrid, but this was his only managerial position in which he has not worked since leaving the Bernabeu in 2021.
The French legend has been waiting for the right opportunity and there will be no better one than Liverpool. So why hadn’t anyone appointed him before? This raises question marks.
Steven Gerrard – 16/1
Not long ago, the former Liverpool captain would have been one of the favorites to replace Klopp, but his star has plummeted since winning the Scottish title with Glasgow Rangers. This was his first managerial role but the 43-year-old played brilliantly at Aston Villa and has failed to achieve much in the desert either, despite signing a new contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq earlier this month.
His bitter experience at Villa is likely to make Liverpool wary of offering him the keys to the manager’s office at Anfield unless he allows hearts to rule their minds.
Thomas Tuchel – 16/1
The German player, like Klopp, made a name for himself in Mainz and Borussia Dortmund in Germany before going abroad. While at Chelsea he won the league and won the Champions League with PSG. He is currently in charge of Bayern Munich, where things are not going as planned, but they remain in the Champions League and are second in the Bundesliga.
What the 50-year-old does have is vast experience of managing big clubs with big egos in the dressing room. He’ll definitely make the shortlist of potential candidates but isn’t sure he’ll be one of the favourites.
José Mourinho – 20/1
Could the self-appointed Special One return to England to take charge of a third Premier League club after trophies at Chelsea and Manchester United?
The Portuguese has a CV, but there is a general perception that the 61-year-old’s best years are behind him. He’ll hate the proposition, but his habit of picking fights and complaining publicly about board decisions will likely make him an unpopular choice. His history of antagonizing Liverpool fans won’t help his case either. There is no doubt that I would like to replace Klopp, but it is unlikely to be mutual.
Graham Potter – 28/1
He is unemployed and waiting for the right opportunity to return to the Premier League. He no doubt sees the Liverpool job as an ideal role for him, but with a player who failed to complete the full season at Chelsea, there will be serious doubts about believing he is the right man to replace Klopp.
He appears to be struggling with scrutiny, criticism and rising expectations at Chelsea and is more likely to prove himself at another mid-tier English club before being named a serious contender for one of global football’s elite positions.
Eddie Howe – 40/1
He hasn’t made as remarkable an impact this season as he did in his first 18 months at Newcastle, who will fight tooth and nail to retain him, but there is no denying he is the outstanding English manager of his generation. He took Bournemouth from League Two to the Premier League and took Newcastle to the Champions League in his first season in charge.
But Howe’s family were very much settled in the North East and he remained at Bournemouth because he was happy there long after many felt he should take the leap and test himself elsewhere. He knows he has more job security than most managers at St James’ Park and it will take a lot to persuade him to give it up. Doesn’t look like a pioneer.