A former Real Madrid manager has been named by a reliable journalist as an ‘outside contender’ to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
It’s only been four days since the German announced that he’ll be leaving Anfield at the end of the season, but already multiple names have been suggested as prospective candidates to fill his enormous shoes.
Xabi Alonso appears to be the early frontrunner, while Roberto De Zerbi, Ruben Amorim and Julian Nagelsmann have also been mentioned abundantly.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT as he evaluated the likelihood of various candidates being strongly considered at Livrerpool, Ben Jacobs threw another name into the mix.
He outlined: “It’s understood Sporting boss Ruben Amorim is also admired and an outside contender is Julen Lopetegui, whom journalist Kevin Hatchard previously called “elite” on talkSPORT’s gameday podcast.”
Lopetegui’s finest managerial hour came when he won the Europa League with Sevilla in 2020, mending his reputation in his homeland after an abortive four-month spell at Real Madrid a couple of years previously, while he lost his job as Spain coach just before the 2018 World Cup for agreeing to take over at the Bernabeu.
His most recent post came at Wolves, who he led to a 3-0 drubbing of Liverpool just under a year ago, one of four meetings against the Reds in an eight-week period at the start of 2023 (Transfermarkt).
Although he instigated improvement at Molineux following the turgid reign of Bruno Lage, he lost as many games as he won in charge of Real Madrid (including a 5-1 hammering by Barcelona), which isn’t an encouraging portent in terms of managing a team who expect to be challenging at the top of their league.
LFC fans might also be apprehensive about how Lopetegui walked out on Wolves just four days before the start of the current Premier League season, having been unhappy with not being allowed to sign players in the summer as the club sought to abide by Financial Fair Play rules (BBC Sport).
The 57-year-old may well get another managerial job in the foreseeable future, but it’s difficult to imagine that being at Liverpool, especially when candidates of Alonso’s ilk appear to be in the frame.