Xabi Alonso has quickly emerged as the clear early betting favourite in the race to succeed Jurgen Klopp as the new manager of Liverpool.

Klopp rocked English football on Friday morning by revealing in a shock announcement that he would be leaving Anfield at the end of the season after more than eight years at the helm.

Attentions will now rapidly turn to the subject of who could succeed the Merseyside icon, which will certainly be no mean feat for whoever takes on the job.

Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso is the initial top choice with bookmakers to arrive in the summer, with the Spaniard having guided his Bayer Leverkusen side to the top of the Bundesliga table this season with a four-point lead over perennial German champions Bayern Munich in their shock title charge.

The 42-year-old previously coached at Real Madrid and Real Sociedad before stepping up to his first senior managerial job in October 2022. He previously made 210 appearances for Liverpool between 2004-09, winning the Champions League, FA Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Community Shield.

Pep Lijnders will also be departing Liverpool along with fellow Klopp assistant Peter Krawietz, with the club stating his desire to pursue a career as a manager.

He also features prominently in the early betting to take over from Klopp, with Anfield hero Steven Gerrard similarly high up on the list.

The former Rangers boss recently signed a new two-year contract at Al-Ettifaq, having moved to Saudi Arabia following a rough 11-month spell in charge at Aston Villa that at the time had appeared to cost him any chance of succeeding Klopp.

Brighton's Robert De Zerbi is another intriguing potential candidate following his excellent work at the Amex, while Julian Nagelsmann will also be mentioned in connection with the Premier League once again following previous links to the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham, with his short-term contract to manage his native Germany expiring after this summer's home European Championship.

Klopp himself has been strongly linked with taking on the Germany national team job in future. Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique, Italy's Luciano Spalletti, Atletico Madrid stalwart Diego Simeone, ex-Chelsea and Spurs boss Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho are other possible candidates, with the latter having been sacked by Roma last week.

Other outside contenders could include the likes of Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus and Belgium head coach Domenico Tedesco.

Here are the early odds for the next Liverpool manager in full.

Next Liverpool manager odds

Xabi Alonso 5/4

Pep Lijnders 3/1

Steven Gerrard 11/2

Roberto De Zerbi 15/2

Julian Nagelsmann 9/1

Ange Postecoglou 14/1

Luis Enrique 14/1

Luciano Spalletti 16/1

Diego Simeone 16/1

Antonio Conte 20/1

Jose Mourinho 40/1

Rafael Benitez 40/1

Massimiliano Allegri 50/1

Domenico Tedesco 50/1

Odds via Betfair (subject to change).