Ryan Babel has warned Xabi Alonso that he’d be taking on ‘a big risk’ if he were to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
The Bayer Leverkusen boss remains a firm favourite to replace the German at Anfield this summer off the back of his exceptional work with the Bundesliga champions-elect, although his former Reds teammate feels that coming in straight after a club legend could be too big a step for him at this moment.
FOLLOW Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE
The former Netherlands winger told the Liverpool Echo regarding the 42-year-old’s next move: “I think maybe to replace Klopp, it would be a big risk for him.
“Of course, you can see he’s a good manager in the making, but the difference with Leverkusen and Liverpool is that with Leverkusen, it’s okay if you do well. With Liverpool, you have to do well. I think it would be better for him to step in at a different time.
“Even though this is the perfect time, I think it will be very difficult and the pressure is very high to replace Klopp.”
No matter who Liverpool appoint as their next manager, they’d find it a tall order to replicate the impact that Klopp has made during his eight-and-a-half years at Anfield.
It’s understandable why Babel might feel that one exceptional season at Leverkusen won’t guarantee years of success on Merseyside, but Alonso still seems to be the best viable candidate for the Reds job at the moment.
He can’t be doing any more than what he’s already doing at the BayArena, while his five years as an LFC player would have given him a strong affinity for the club, whose fanbase have a special fondness for him in return.
Every managerial appointment comes with an element of risk – a coach who enjoys vast success with one team might flop with their next move, for various reasons – so the trick is to appoint the candidate who’d represent the safest gamble.
Alonso’s stock is at an all-time high, and Liverpool fans would readily acknowledge that succeeding the German is a gargantuan task, so the 42-year-old would be given the benefit of time to prove himself in the Anfield dugout.
Also, this may be his best (if not only) chance to manage the club, so would he want to turn it down simply because of the Klopp replacement factor?