I know why Xabi Alonso turned down Liverpool - it's a job with dangers

Arne Slot has become the latest frontrunner to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager this summer, following on from Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim.

Klopp announced he would leave Anfield at the end of the season after nine years back in January, with former Reds midfielder Alonso quickly emerging as an early favourite following his remarkable transformation of Bayer Leverkusen.

However, ahead of winning the club’s first ever Bundesliga title, the Spaniard instead opted to stay put with the German outfit, with Sporting Lisbon manager Amorim then taking his place as a strong contender.

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But now Feyenoord manager Slot has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Klopp, after Liverpool cooled interest in the Portuguese. While the Dutchman isn’t the only name on the Reds’ shortlist, the ECHO understands that he is strongly fancied by the Anfield hierarchy given he fits all of the criteria that have been set out during the process of finding Klopp's replacement.

Given that Klopp confirmed his decision to depart three months ago, the search for his successor has inevitably been a lengthy process accompanied by ever-changing speculation.

Unworried by the ongoing search, Liverpool legend Didi Hamann is confident that his former club will choose the right man to replace Klopp. And while the German has no preference regarding who should succeed his compatriot, he conceded the Reds now need to make a call.

“Obviously if Ruben Amorim doesn’t get the job, I’m sure they’ll have somebody else (lined up),” Hamann, courtesy of Free Bets, exclusively told the ECHO. “There’s obviously a few candidates.

“I wouldn’t be too worried if Amorim doesn’t come because they will have somebody lined up. I think there are a few potential candidates.

“Whether they are able to manage the club remains to be seen, you only find that out when they are there. But I wouldn’t be too worried that they haven’t got one for next season yet.

“There’s candidates out there and don’t forget Bayern Munich are also looking for a new manager. Manchester United might be too, potentially. That’s three big clubs looking for managers. Personally, I wouldn’t have any preference whatsoever. There are good ones out there.

“You need to see, do they speak English? How do they want to play football? Obviously it would be great to bring somebody in who gives these young players a chance that Klopp has played, mostly in the cup competitions but in the league as well.

“I think it would be a shame if somebody comes in who says, ‘yeah, I’m not really one for developing players’. They have so many good youngsters there so I think that’s another thing to take into account, to bring somebody in who uses these young players because Liverpool have probably got one of the best crop of young players so you’ve got to use them.

“And it doesn’t always have to be a big name. Sometimes you just have to give somebody a chance. At the same time, at some stage you’ve got to make a call. At some stage, you’ve got to commit and say this is the man, because it probably makes it easier to attract players as well.

“At Liverpool, it remains to be seen who is going to go. Whether (Mohamed) Salah is going to go, (Virgil) Van Dijk is past 30 now so you need to bring one or two players in.

“They would like to know who the manager is going to be next season so at some stage, they have to make a decision.”

Meanwhile, Hamann believes his former team-mate, Alonso, has made the right decision to spurn interest from Liverpool in order to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.

The pair played for the Reds together for two seasons under Rafa Benitez, memorably lifting the Champions League in 2005. And well-aware of how tough a job it could be to succeed Klopp at Anfield, Hamman is instead excited to see what Alonso can achieve in another full season at Leverkusen.

“I think 100% he made the right decision,” he said. “It is not an easy task to follow Klopp at Liverpool. It brings its own dangers with it and that might be another thing why one or two people, I don’t want to say put off, but think what can they do.

“This guy was loved and has been very successful at the club. I don’t think it is an easy thing to follow him. It’s big footsteps.

"Bayern Munich, there are a lot of problems within the club at the moment too. Xabi is aware of all these things.

“He has a great team at Leverkusen and I think they’re keeping pretty much the whole team together bar one or two players. They’ll bring in new ones too and I think he’s made the right call because if they do stay together, which I think they will, I think they can have a really good run in the Champions League next season.”

Meanwhile, Hamann also dismissed the possibility of Jose Mourinho succeeding Klopp at Anfield after the former Chelsea boss was spotted at Craven Cottage for Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Fulham.

The German regularly clashed with the Portuguese’s first Chelsea side during his own time at Anfield. And while he believes Mourinho would be confident enough to replace Klopp, he doesn’t think he would be the right fit for Liverpool.

“You’ve got to go in there and say, ‘this is what I’m doing, this is what we do. Klopp’s gone. He’s been brilliant but now this is a new time, a new era’,” Hamann said. “Mourinho would do that.

“Would he be my first choice? Probably not, because of the young players at the football club. But I think it would be very entertaining!

“I’ve got huge respect for him, I think he’s a brilliant manager. At Liverpool, they need somebody who appreciates what he’s got and understands the people. I think that has always been a big part of Mourinho’s philosophy in a way.

“He has that, yes. Would he be my choice, probably not. And Liverpool is a big job!

“Don’t forget the pressure because of Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool is different, it’s an institution. Mourinho has worked at some of the biggest clubs, but at the same time, I would be surprised if they were interested in him.

“But we’ve seen a lot of things! You’ve seen (Thomas) Tuchel come to Bayern Munich and everyone thought this was going to be it for the next five years and they’ll be successful. But they’ve decided to part ways at the end of the season.

“You never know if it’s going to work out or not until the people are there. There’s only so many managers out there.”

Didi Hamann was speaking exclusively to the Liverpool ECHO courtesy of Free Bets