The footballing world was stunned by Jurgen Klopp’s announcement that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the current season.
The German has spent the last nine years at the Anfield helm and has won six major trophies during his tenure, including the 2019 Champions League title.
Liverpool, who currently hold a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, are still fighting on all four fronts this season and he could finish on a spectacular high.
But the announcement has led to massive speculation as to who will be his replacement in the summer. We look at the top-five contenders to fill the hot seat.
Xabi Alonso
Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso is the current favourite to succeed Klopp, having had an outstanding start to his managerial career.
After stints in charge of the Real Madrid youth team and Real Sociedad B, the Spaniard was appointed manager of Bayer Leverkusen in October 2022.
At that stage, Leverkusen were second from bottom of the Bundesliga, but he guided them to sixth and to the semi-finals of the Europa League.
At the time of writing, Alonso’s men are top of the German top-flight after remaining unbeaten in their opening 18 matches.
The former Spanish international, who won the World Cup in 2010, spent a five-year spell at Anfield as a player – during which time he lifted the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FA Cup.
Alonso – who is being heavily tipped for the role - was a big fans favourite with Reds supporters and his appointment would be popular with the fanbase.
Alonso favourite
Roberto De Zerbi
Two years ago there won’t have been many English football fans that had heard of Roberto De Zerbi, but such is the impact he has had at Brighton, he is now being linked with major managerial roles.
The Italian impressed at Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk before being appointed the Seagulls boss in September 2022.
There were serious question marks surrounding Brighton’s decision to make him successor to Graham Potter, but those concerns were very quickly quashed.
De Zerbi, who has also been linked as a contender to replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, led the south-coast outfit to sixth in the Premier League, as they qualified for Europe for the first time in the club’s history.
The 44-year-old has a 47% win ratio with Brighton and his experience of managing in the English top-flight could work in his favour.
De Zerbi on the list
Zinedine Zidane
Zidane was a world-class player and has also enjoyed plenty of success as a manager, during two spells in charge of Real Madrid.
The Frenchman has been out of management for almost three years, after stepping down from his role at the Bernabeu in May 2021.
Many pundits feel Zidane, who led Real to two La Liga titles and three Champions League victories, has been biding his time and waiting for the right job to appear before returning to football.
It would be a surprise though if the Liverpool post was that role, especially as he has no real links to the Premier League.
Could Zidane end up at Liverpool
Pep Lijnders
In the past, many fans felt Dutchman Lijnders would step up to the main role at Anfield, having worked as assistant to Klopp since 2018.
The 41-year-old has played a significant role in the Reds’ success in the last five years and has on occasions, dealt with press conferences and post-match interviews.
It was confirmed, after Klopp’s announcement, that Lijnders and the rest of the backroom team would also move on in the summer of 2024.
However, owners FSG might be tempted to try and persuade the coach to stay on, especially as he knows the players and set up better than anyone else, other than Klopp.
Klopp's assistant in the running
Julian Nagelsmann
At the age of just 36, Nagelsmann has already had three major club management roles in Germany before being appointed as Germany national team coach in 2023.
Starting his managerial career at Hoffenheim, Nagelsmann then spent two years at RB Leipzig, becoming the youngest boss to win a Champions League match before helping them reach the last four of Europe’s top club competition.
His success at Leipzig led to him being appointed as Bayern Munich manager in 2021, where he won the 2021-22 Bundesliga title.
Despite a 71.4% win ratio, Nagelsmann was then harshly sacked in March 2023, with the Bayern board keen to appoint Thomas Tuchel, who had become available after leaving Chelsea.
