Jurgen Klopp endorses 'standout' Xabi Alonso in Liverpool manager search

Jurgen Klopp has labelled Xabi Alonso the "standout" managerial talent of the next generation as Liverpool search for a new boss to take over ahead of next season.

Klopp will step down as Reds manager at the end of the 2023/24 campaign after almost nine years in the job, recently declaring he no longer has the energy to keep going.

Given Klopp has overseen Liverpool's most successful period since the 1980s, winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, the appointment of his successor is going to be a hugely important moment for the Reds.

Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso has made a whirlwind impact at Bayer Leverkusen to put him in the frame and Klopp appears to have offered a resounding endorsement.

"Xabi is doing an incredible job," Klopp said ahead of facing Brentford in the Premier League.

"The dinosaurs if you want - [Carlo] Ancelotti, [Jose] Mourinho, [Pep] Guardiola, maybe me - we will not do it for the next 20 years. OK, maybe Mourinho will. The next generation is already there and I would say Xabi is standout in that department.

"Former world-class player, from a coaching family as well which helps a little, he was like a coach already when he was playing. The football he is playing, the teams he sets up, the transfers he did, it is absolutely exceptional."

Referencing Leverkusen's charge towards the Bundesliga title, Klopp continued: "I played a long time in the Bundesliga and it is super impressive. Not only the points tally but the way they play. Leverkusen was clearly the better side in the first game against Bayern [Munich] and that is rare.

"To be honest, when we beat Bayern at [Borussia] Dortmund it was a bit of very well defended, counter attack and taking the momentum. Especially at the beginning. But Leverkusen were better. That was probably the real surprise given the short time he was there and it's a young team. He has super signings for this team, exactly what they needed, and that's really a very special job.

"How quick his team is that well tuned. For the time it's taken, he's put his proper stamp on it. Nobody knows if that is always the way he wants to play or if it's the way this team specifically plays, he is not long enough in the business to tell, but obviously the coaching is exceptional. That is clear."

Sources have recently confirmed to 90min Alonso indeed leads Liverpool's shortlist of Klopp replacements. The Reds would prefer to land a new sporting director before turning full attention to the managerial vacancy, but Alonso would be interested and features alongside Roberto De Zerbi, Ange Postecoglou, Ruben Amorim, Unai Emery and Roger Schmidt. Though not an outright target, Steven Gerrard could still land himself an interview out of respect as a Liverpool legend.

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