Ruben Amorim offered hope to Liverpool fans by admitting this could be his final season in Lisbon last night.

The Sporting CP head coach cryptically responded “we’ll see” when asked by the Portuguese media whether May’s domestic cup final might be his last game with the club, after his side qualified with a 2-2 draw at Benfica on Tuesday.

Amorim, 39, has been increasingly touted as Jurgen Klopp’s successor following Xabi Alonso’s announcement that he will stay at Bayer Leverkusen next season.

Alonso, who won the Champions League during his five-year playing spell at Anfield, has taken Leverkusen to within touching distance of their first ever Bundesliga.

With Alonso no longer a possibility, Liverpool bosses have turned their attention towards Amorim.

According to the Telegraph, the highly-rated head coach has a release clause of just £12.8 million, dropping to £8.5m in the 2025 summer transfer window.

It had previously been claimed in Portugal that he had a £25.7m release clause for domestic clubs and a £17m fee for clubs abroad, but the figure is now said to be even lower.

With Xavi set to depart at the end of the season, Barcelona are also reportedly interesting in Amorim’s signature. The Catalan club were reportedly favourites before Xabi Alonso’s announcement dragged Liverpool into the race.

Liverpool have a close relationship with Amorim’s agent, Raul Pais Da Costa, who also represents Colombian forward Luis Diaz.

The Portuguese manager, who had his playing career cut short due to injury seven years ago, has been in charge of Sporting since 2020. He won the Primeira Liga title in 2021, the club’s first in 19 years, at just 36 years old.

Amorim has continued to impress. Vasco Seabra, head coach of Estoril, described him as an “amazing coach” and this season he has won the Primeira Liga Manager of the Month award on three occasions this season, with Sporting sitting top of the Portuguese - a point and a game in hand above Benfica.

Sporting appear resigned to losing the Lisbon-born boss and have already started to ponder replacements.

Questioned on the importance of keeping focused on Sporting, Amorim said: “Completely, the only thing that annoys me is that they already had a replacement for me.

“That's what got me the most upset, even today I told [Hugo] Viana [Sporting's director of football] to calm down because it's not like that. That's the only thing I've paid attention to.”

Liverpool are also reportedly targeting Roberto De Zerbi, Julian Nagelsmann, and Simone Inzaghi to replace the outgoing Klopp.