Liverpool owner John Henry and wife Linda Pizzuti could make a shock new manager move
Liverpool are being urged to rival Manchester United for the appointment of Gareth Souhtgate this summer amid claims FSG chief John Henry could do far worse than consider a move for the England boss if an approach for Xabi Alonso fails.
The Merseyside giants are preparing for an emotional goodbye to Jurgen Klopp, who will walk away from Anfield at the season’s end after close to nine years at the Liverpool helm. The Reds already have one trophy in their locker this season and the German will hope to further enhance his legacy with another two trophies before the end of the campaign.
Indeed, reaching – and winning – the Europa League final at the Dublin-staged showpiece would be an extraordinary and fitting way for Klopp to bow out. First, however, they must get past Atalanta in the quarter-finals, while a potential semi-final against either Benfica or Marseille lies in wait if they can overcome the Italians.
Behind the scenes, work is gathering pace on appointing a top-tier successor to Klopp; a hunt that has very much focused on luring Alonso back to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen.
However, despite TEAMtalk learning that Alonso has been offered a three-year deal to succeed Klopp and amid major new claims that the 42-year-old is willing to say yes to that proposal, Liverpool do not have a straightforward route clear to Alonso.
Indeed, they face strong competition from Bayern Munich, while a school of thought also claims Leverkusen will refuse to negotiate his sale, while other reports indicate the Spaniard could stay where he is for now and wait for the Real Madrid job to come up in a year from now.
Liverpool and Man Utd may both be seeking new managers
Amid fears that their quest to land Alonso could ultimately end in failure, Liverpool do also actively have a list of alternative coaches whom they could turn to as alternatives.
And TEAMtalk understands that both Roberto De Zerbi and, in particular Ruben Amorim, are the names next in line for their upcoming vacancy.
Ironically, Liverpool’s managerial hunt could well coincide with a similar quest by Manchester United to land upon a new manager amid increasing claims that Erik ten Hag could be disposed of come the season’s end.
As a result, the Red Devils have also been linked with a move for De Zerbi and Amorim too.
However, the name most strongly tipped for the Old Trafford hotseat of late is Southgate, with the England boss due to fall out of contract at the end of the calendar year and amid a revelation that it will only cost £800,000 to buy him out of his contract once the European Championships are over.
Southgate himself has poured scorn on claims he could replace Ten Hag, stating earlier last week: “I think there are two things from my point of view, one is that I’m the England manager, I’ve got one job basically – to try and deliver a European Championship. Clearly before that, there are two important games this week,” he said.
“Second thing is, Manchester United have a manager and I think it is always completely disrespectful when there is a manager in place. I’m president of the LMA [League Managers’ Association] so I don’t have any time for that sort of thing really.”
Man Utd told why Southgate comes with no guarantees of success
Analysing the possibility of Southgate stepping into Ten Hag’s shoes, former Liverpool and England defender Glen Johnson insists there are no certainties that the England boss would perform any better than the Dutchman, having advised Ratcliffe to proceed with caution.
“It’s an awkward one to talk about because you don’t want to go into a major tournament speculating about whether England’s manager is going elsewhere and you also don’t want to make assumptions over Erik ten Hag’s future too because he’s still the manager of Manchester United, but unfortunately that’s what happens, so we’re going to do it,” Johnson told Betfred.
“There have been a number of good, successful managers that have gone into the job at Manchester United and have struggled, so it wouldn’t be guaranteed success for Gareth if he was to take the job.
“Manchester United are a huge club, with great support and on paper, they have a very good squad too. A top manager like Gareth could come in, get rid of a lot of the deadwood, provide that team with a good backbone and make Manchester United successful again, however, there’s been a lot of good managers that have taken that job in recent years and have failed.”
It’s reported Ratcliffe wants Southgate in charge due to his strong connection with a number of the club’s England players, but Johnson added: “I’m not sure because despite being a top bloke and great manager, I believe Gareth gets more respect from the players in the England squad because he’s English.
“Foreign players in Manchester United’s squad are initially not going to have that same level of respect for Gareth as the English players do. It would take a bit of time for him to win them over and if he can, then he’s more than capable of being successful.”
Liverpool told to rival Man Utd for Gareth Southgate
However, Johnson takes a thoroughly-different tune when considering Southgate as a contender to replace Klopp at Anfield and feels that is an appointment that Reds chief Henry and the rest of the FSG board would be wise to consider.
And while Johnson insists much will depend on whether Southgate himself wants to return to club football, he is adamant that such a move would tick plenty of boxes for the Merseysiders.
“If he’s available in the summer, then you’ve got to look at all the options. He’s done a brilliant job with England, so there’s no reason why he can’t be successful with a club like Liverpool as he’d be dealing with a similar standard of players. You’d need to have the chat because you can’t just dismiss him if he’s available.”
Following Saturday’s loss to Brazil and Tuesday’s draw with Belgium, Southgate now has a 61.29 win percentage record as Three Lions coach.
Unfortunately, though, he has only won four games from 26 matches against sides ranked in FIFA’s top 10 and that record may be seen as a reason to potentially swerve his appointment by both the north-west rivals. Time will tell…
