Premier League

LIVERPOOL have reportedly added Roberto De Zerbi to their three-man managerial shortlist in case they miss out on Xabi Alonso.Jurgen Klopp will leave Anfield at the end of the season.Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool this summerCredit: APBrighton chief Roberto De Zerbi could replace the German at AnfieldCredit: PAAnd the search is well underway to find the German’s replacement. Former Kop midfielder Alonso is the No1 choice as he impresses in charge of Bayer Leverkusen.The Spaniard, 42, has led the German side to the top of the Bundesliga – seven points clear of Bayern Munich with a game in hand as they close in on a very first league title in their 120-year history. But with Barcelona and possibly Bayern both looking for new managers, Liverpool know it won’t be a simple task landing Alonso.READ MORE ON LIVERPOOLAnd that means the club have drafted up a list of possible alternatives. According to The Guardian, De Zerbi is on it with informal checks already completed. The Italian has done a remarkable job at Brighton since replacing Graham Potter early last season, leading the club into a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League, an FA Cup semi-final and the Europa League last 16 with an exciting brand of football not dissimilar to Klopp’s. De Zerbi, 44, is fiercely ambitious and the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk boss has made no secret of his plans to manage at the very top level, competing for silverware. Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSSpeaking earlier this season, he told Sky Sports: “We feel we can write another part of Brighton’s history.”Everyone feels this responsibility and we are working very hard to make our fans happy and our people working in the club. We will try and show our best.’Pushed me over the edge’ – Gary Neville reduces Dragon’s Den contestant to tears after making ‘elite athletes’ dig”When I hear that big teams are interested in me it is an honour. I am proud, but my focus is on my work day-by-day. “About the future, I will speak with the owner and with the club because I want to compete in the best way I can.”I want to understand the plan, and then it is not a problem to work in a big, big team or another big team. “I would like in my career to compete to win the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, Champions League but there isn’t a time when you have to go and compete, or to wait some more time.”But ahead of today’s trip to Fulham, he refused to be drawn on speculation linking him with Liverpool or Barcelona, with Pep Guardiola reportedly recommending him to the LaLiga giants.Roberto De Zerbi’s Managerial Career
CLUB RECORDS

Darfo Boario 19 Nov 2013 to 30 June 2014 – Played 22, Wins 5, Draws 5, Losses 12, Win % 22.73
Foggia 1 Jul 2014 to 14 Aug 2016 – P 91, W 47, D 25, L 19, Win % 51.65
Palermo 6 Sep 2016 to 30 Nov 2016 – P 13, W 1, D 3, L 9, Win % 7.69
Benevento 23 Oct 2017 to 30 Jun 2018 – P 29, W 6, D 3, L 20, Win % 20.69
Sassuolo 1 Jul 2018 to 24 May 2021 – P 120, W 43, D 36, L 41, Win % 35.83
Shakhtar Donetsk 25 May 2021 to 11 Jul 2022 – P 30, W 20, D 5, L 5, Win % 66.67
Brighton & Hove Albion 18 Sep 2022 to present – P 75, W 35, D 19, L 21, Win % 46.67

HONOURS

Foggia Coppa Italia Lega Pro 2015–16
Shakhtar Donetsk Ukrainian Super Cup 2021

De Zerbi – also linked with Manchester United alongside Graham Potter should Erik ten Hag get sacked – added: “I have only Brighton in my head. I would like to finish the season in the best way with our young players – to compete and win as many games as we can. “Yes, I have a contract. I have decided nothing. My focus is on Brighton – 100 per cent.”As well as De Zerbi, Sporting boss Ruben Amorim and the Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann are also on the three-man shortlist. Amorim, 39, took over at Sporting in 2020 and led them to the league title in his first season in charge and battling Benfica at the top of the table this year.Nagelsmann, meanwhile, was brutally sacked by Bayern Munich last March and signed a short-term deal to lead his country into Euro 2024 on home soil.READ MORE SUN STORIESHowever, the 36-year-old is expected to become available again in the summer and may well be ready for a new club project. Liverpool are also in the process of appointing a new sporting director in a huge year for the club – with former chief Michael Edwards a primary target.Xabi Alonso is perfect man for the jobBy Dan King
XABI ALONSO ticks almost every box to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, and if Bayer Leverkusen don’t let their lead at the top of the Bundesliga slip the case for him to do so will be irresistible.
The former Kop idol knows the club inside out after five seasons at Anfield and has made no secret of his enduring affection.
Alonso has already forged a reputation as an innovative coach playing an attractive, pressing style, usually in a fluid 3-4-2-1 formation.
He has taken Leverkusen from second bottom of the Bundesliga to seven-points clear at the top, putting them on course to be crowned German champions for the first time in their 120-year history.
It’s worth remembering that both Rafa Benitez and Klopp arrived at Anfield with proof they could dethrone clubs who dominated their leagues.
For Alonso to do the same, in only his second season as a top-flight manager, would mark him out as something special.
It is that lack of long-term experience that would still make appointing him to replace Klopp a gamble.
But otherwise, he looks like the perfect candidate as Liverpool are forced to plan a future without the man who made them champions of England, Europe and the world.

Xabi Alonso is Liverpool’s No1 targetCredit: AFPJulian Nagelsmann is another possible option after leading Germany at the EurosCredit: APRuben Amorim has impressed at SportingCredit: Getty More

A CHELSEA star will be “out for the rest of the season” with boss Mauricio Pochettino revealing two fresh injury setbacks.The big-spending Blues splashed out £70m to Leicester City for French international defender Wesley Fofana back in 2022.Wesley Fofana looks set to miss the rest of the season for ChelseaCredit: ReutersHowever, he has been sidelined since July after reconstruction surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.The 22-year-old resumed light training in November with things looking promising that he would be back in match action before the end of the term.Fofana even shared a photo of himself training along with a caption on Instagram that read: “Back on track.” But any hopes of him being back in the Chelsea side over the next two months now appear to have been dashed by manager Pochettino.READ MORE ON FOOTBALLWhen asked about Fofana’s return ahead of today’s Premier League trip to Brentford, he said: “Unfortunately I think it is difficult to see him [again this season].”Fofana missed 15 top-flight games during his first season at Stamford Bridge due to a knee injury.He also missed most of the 2021/22 campaign with a broken leg while at Leicester.And his latest setback comes amid yet more injury misery for Pochettino.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSForward Christopher Nkunku hurt himself in last Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat against Liverpool after coming on as a second-half substitute.And he will be sidelined for “a few weeks” due to the hamstring issue.Inside Chelsea flop Mateja Kezman’s amazing mountain resort in Serbia Poch said: “He suffered a problem in his hamstring and then we will see in a few weeks if he is available. Now he is doing recovery from Sunday. “Unlucky, bad luck because to suffer again another injury is tough for a player that didn’t play too much during the season and also came from the Bundesliga, from Germany, with some problems.”Meanwhile, Fofana and wife Cyrine have sparked a mystery by unfollowing each other on Instagram and deleting wedding photos.The pair wed in 2022 at the plush Yacht Club De Monaco after announcing their relationship the year before on social media.Question marks were first raised last year when Cyrine – a vice-president at a marketing consultancy – made her page private but speculation faded once her page returned to public access.Now their latest action on Instagram has reignited talk over their relationship.Fofana, who has 786,000 followers, and Cyrine, who has 15,600, have stopped following each other on their popular accounts and have taken down photos of themselves together – having previously offered several happy images together for the public to see.Fofana and wife Cyrine have sparked mystery over their relationshipCredit: Instagram @lawestt_Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku has also suffered an injury setbackCredit: Getty More

JURGEN KLOPP has confirmed Alisson Becker has a “serious injury” – but insists the Liverpool keeper CAN return this season.The Premier League leaders have been relying on Caoimhin Kelleher since the Brazilian suffered a hamstring problem in mid-February.Alisson’s absence could dent Liverpool’s hopes of staying topCredit: RexAnfield boss Klopp said: “Alisson has suffered a serious injury, not a short one. “There is no real timescale on it, but it is proper muscle injury. It’s not a short one.“It is a rather serious one, but NOT a season-ending injury”.Alisson first sat out the 3-1 home win over Burnley on February 10 with illness.READ MORE LIVERPOOL NEWSHe then hurt his hamstring and missed the next match seven days later, a 4-1 league triumph at Brentford.Republic of Ireland star Kelleher, 25, deputised each time for the 31-year-old – plus three more victories since then.A 4-1 success over Luton and Wednesday’s 3-0 FA Cup KO of Southampton – both at Anfield – sandwiched his greatest achievement so far.That saw Kelleher produce star man heroics in last Sunday’s 1-0 Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea.Most read in FootballLiverpool now visit Nottingham Forest in the Prem on Saturday – a club who tried to sign him in January.But Klopp has denied coming close to selling Kelleher.He said: “For me it was never a discussion.”We spoke about it but for me there was no chance of him leaving so I was not interested in who was asking.”Liverpool 3 Southampton 0: Jayden Danns scores twice after Lewis Koumas goal as Klopp’s kids set up Man Utd FA Cup clash More

MARK CROSSLEY knows all about playing at the highest level, making his name at Nottingham Forest and even having a spell at Manchester United.But his first contract under legendary boss Brian Clough left him with a mystery salary!Mark Crossley has lifted the lid on his first contract under Brian CloughCredit: GettyThe ex-Man Utd and Nottingham Forest goalie admits Clough left him with a mystery salaryCredit: GettyCrossley explains all in his own words, exclusively on SunSport…I MADE the worst prediction ever when we got back into the dressing room after this opening-game victory in 1992 — the first to be screened live on the all-new Sky Sports.We had just deservedly beaten one of the pre-season title favourites and it should been more but for some great saves from opposite number David James, who was making his debut for Liverpool.In the dressing room I said to team-mate Stuart Pearce that I really fancied us for a top-six place that season.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSWe then went on to lose our next six league games in a row, won only one of our next 16 and ended up being the first team to be mathematically relegated from the all-new Premier League which, even 32 years on, is a horrible memory.Quite rightly, Pearcey never forgave me, mainly because I said it once before at the start of another season and we went on to have a horror campaign. You could call it the curse of Crossley!Despite losing world-class defender Des Walker to Sampdoria in the summer of 1992, we still had a wonderful squad.But then we sold Teddy Sheringham to Spurs a fortnight later — and arguably losing two key members of the spine of that side was too much.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSTeddy may not have been the quickest striker but he more than made up for that with a brilliant football brain. It was no  surprise to me to see what he went on to achieve at international and club level.These were the days of the rigid 4-4-2 but Teddy was smart enough to break rank and would slot into a hole and create and score so many goals for himself and others.Nottingham Forest 0 Man Utd 1: Casemiro scores dramatic last-minute winner to set up FA Cup horror clash vs LiverpoolEven without Des and Teddy, we still thought we had enough with Psycho (Pearce), Keano (Roy Keane) and (Nigel) Cloughie Junior in the side.But as  the season went on and we lost games, so many decisions seemed to go against us and the confidence drained.The media painted a picture of us being a team that was “too good to go down”. Sadly we proved that not to be the case.This opening win against Liverpool was the best thing that happened in the entire 1992-93 campaign — just these 90 minutes.In that moment, I don’t think any of us would have ever been able to comprehend the sort of effect Sky TV would have on  football’s top flight at that time.The  only real difference for us from the end of the previous season in the old First Division was that this was the first league game to be screened live at the start of a new campaign. We had been brought up on a diet of watching a couple of games of edited highlights on Match of the Day and another couple on ITV’s The Big Match.Now every top-flight game is featured on Match of the Day and a couple of times a week viewers have the build-up, the full live match and all the interviews afterwards.It’s taken for granted what we  watch now. But then it felt a little bit different.What is noticeable over three decades on is how the average crowd has increased for a Premier League game.The influence Brian had on my  professional life cannot be measuredMark CrossleyOn this first weekend of the season the average attendance in the top flight was 21,642, compared with last weekend’s eight Prem games with an average of 42,040 — almost double, illustrating just how the league has grown the game on and off the pitch.I think all the Forest players felt awful for boss Brian Clough in that final season to end in relegation after his incredible management success.It was also clear that Brian had been ill throughout that campaign, too.My honest opinion is that I think he would have quit had we won the FA Cup in the 1991 final. It was the one  trophy that had eluded him during his management career but he still had a burning desire to win so carried on.The influence Brian had on my  professional life cannot be measured.I am convinced without him I would have had nowhere near the career I had.He was genuinely a huge father figure to me — and here’s just a tiny example of our relationship.When I first signed for  Forest, above my signature the contract was completely blank. Cloughie said he would fill it in.Excitedly, I rushed home to tell my dad that I had signed a contract for the club. You can imagine my dad’s first question to me was: “How much are you getting a week?”Er, a pause, because I had absolutely no idea. Dad looked at me completely bemused.READ MORE SUN STORIESBut that was the trust I had in the man. He never let me down and I was completely happy with what Cloughie gave me.But he knew he could completely trust me if I was happy for him to fill in my contract without me knowing. More