One Liverpool-focused journalist has suggested that the Anfield hierarchy don’t seem to be ‘absolutely convinced’ about Xabi Alonso, despite ongoing murmurings about him as a prospective successor to Arne Slot.
In a week which has seen the former Reds midfielder emerge as a leading candidate for the Chelsea head coach vacancy, he’s once again found himself touted for a return to Merseyside if FSG were to dispense with the increasingly under-pressure Dutchman.
However, all reliable indications are that the LFC hierarchy will keep faith in the incumbent boss for now.
David Lynch has claimed that, if there was a thorough conviction at Liverpool that they view Alonso as the right man for the job, they’d already have moved to try and appoint him, especially as he’s been available for work since January.
He told BBC Radio Merseyside: “Even at the time that Slot was appointed, anyone you spoke to at Liverpool wasn’t suggesting that Xabi Alonso was the absolute number one choice… You never got the sense that he was the nailed-on number one and Arne Slot was second choice. Even though that narrative was pushed at the time, it didn’t really marry with reality.
“The fact is, if Xabi Alonso was the absolute outstanding candidate as far as they were concerned at the time – he’s available now, and there’s a summer coming up where if you were convinced he was a slam-dunk and would absolutely do a better job than Arne Slot, then the opportunity to appoint him is there and all they’d have to do is pay up the final year of Slot’s contract.
“The fact that they’re not doing that, and we get the sense that it’s absolutely not happening, that there’s no pursuit of Alonso ongoing, I think it gives you an indication that they’re not absolutely convinced about him.”
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What Lynch is saying makes sense – if Liverpool chiefs were convinced that Alonso is the right fit, they’d probably have appointed him immediately after Jurgen Klopp left in 2024, and they’d certainly be moving to try and get him in now.
The i Paper reported on Tuesday that the Spaniard would be prepared to wait and see if FSG dismiss Slot before he commits to Chelsea, which suggests that our former midfielder would crave a return to Anfield if he were given the opportunity.
We wouldn’t advise bringing in a one-time Reds player as head coach purely because of their prior connection to the club, but the 44-year-old has proven his credentials in the dugout with his achievements at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won an unbeaten domestic double two years ago.
Considering that Bayern Munich have hoovered up every other Bundesliga title since 2013, the scale of that feat at the BayArena should never be underestimated; and his brief spell at Real Madrid hasn’t greatly dented his reputation, considering what a circus the Bernabeu has become this season.
No managerial appointment brings a cast-iron guarantee of success, but in our view, Alonso has a sufficient body of work behind him to suggest that he’d get more out of the Liverpool squad than Slot has done over ther past few months.
If FSG view it differently, then we best hope that their ongoing faith in the Dutchman is ultimately vindicated.
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There are other reasons why FSG don’t want him. First is FSG want a director of football to decide the transfers, Alonso wants full control of player recruitment. Second FSG want a yes man like Rodgers and slot who they can control.
It’s clueless ownership. FSG out. The sporting director wasted nearly 450 million last summer, yeah, let’s give him, Hughes , more money to throw down the toilet.
With Chelsea going all out to hire alonso, it will not be surprising if he signs on the dotted line with them. He will prove his credentials with them. Fsg better not cry over spilt milk when we get beaten by his team.
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