Liverpool unwilling to engage in 'public courtship' for Xabi Alonso

Liverpool want to act respectfully in their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso and will not make public their attempts to bring him in like Bayern Munich, a new report claims.

The Reds are on the lookout for a successor to Jurgen Klopp, who confirmed to the board in November he would be standing down at the end of the season. He made this pledge public in late January.

90min understands Alonso is top of Liverpool's seven-strong shortlist of managerial contenders, and though they face competition from Bayern to secure his services, they are not panicked by the rival interest.

Bayern's standing as the biggest club in Germany - the club are nicknamed FC Hollywood in part because of their penchant to grab headlines - has seen their pursuit of Alonso become a fairly public one, with senior figures often asked about his suitability as a replacement for Thomas Tuchel and local media outlets providing frequent updates of their interest.

In contrast to this, The Guardian report Liverpool are wishing to be more respectful in their attempts to lure Alonso back to Anfield. They want him to be focused on helping Leverkusen win their first-ever Bundesliga title having moved ten points clear of Bayern at the top of the standings.

Leverkusen maintained their status as the last remaining unbeaten side in Europe's top-five leagues on Thursday by rescuing a late 2-2 draw at Azerbaijani side Qarabag in their Europa League last 16 first leg having gone into half-time two goals down. Florian Wirtz, who too has been linked with Liverpool, equalised with 20 minutes remaining before Patrik Schick equalised in stoppage time.

They could meet Liverpool later on in the competition, with Klopp's Reds winning 5-1 away at Sparta Prague. A Darwin Nunez brace plus goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai helped the Premier League leaders to a comfortable victory.

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