LIVERPOOL reportedly have Jurgen Klopp’s replacement lined up in former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso.
A “secret agreement” is said to be in place with Alsono’s side Bayer Leverkusen.
Alonso has been making waves at the Bundesliga giants, who are top of the league after winning all three of their opening matches.
Klopp’s Anfield contract does not come to an end until 2026, after nearly a decade in the role.
The former Dortmund boss is rumoured to be looking for new challenges and could exit the club sooner than expected, the Daily Star reports.
Talk of his potential departure has intensified in the wake of Germany’s sacking of Hansi Flick.
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Should Klopp leave, Liverpool are free to snatch Alonso according to the German outlet Bild.
The 41-year-old has a “secret agreement” with Leverkusen which gives him permission to quit the club whenever he wants.
The former midfielder joined Leverkusen in October last year following a three-year spell at Sociedad B.
Alonso’s contract runs until 2026 like Klopp’s but the reports claim the club will not stand in his way if a “suitable offer” is made for him.
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The Spaniard has won 22 of his 42 games in charge of the 2002 Champions League finalists, having taken them from battling relegation to challenging for European places in less than a year.
He spent five seasons at Liverpool as a player, having joined from Real Sociedad in 2004.
There he won the Champions League in his first year at the club, scoring the equaliser against AC Milan in the final.
He left Anfield in 2009 for Real Madrid, where he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League again, before moving on to Bayern Munich in 2014.
Three Bundesliga titles followed over the next three seasons before Alonso hung up his boots, aged 35.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
