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Has long been linked with the Anfield post and, having won trophies at Leicester and Celtic as well as taking Aston Villa to the brink of Champions League qualification in the past two seasons, is a suitably qualified candidate. Rumoured frustration with a lack of transfer funds at Villa could lead to the 58-year-old walking away from the club he joined in 2006
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Voted manager of the year by his peers for guiding Fulham to the Europa League final and to 12th in the Premier League. The 62-year-old has a vast array of experience having managed Internazionale and Switzerland. Hodgson has pledged his future to Fulham but could be tempted by what would almost certainly be the last major post of his career
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The only candidate who has managed Liverpool before, having led the club to three league titles and the domestic double between 1985-91. Would have no problems winning the Kop over – ‘The King’ is regarded as Liverpool’s greatest ever player, as well as one of their finest managers. The 59-year-old remains involved with the club in an ambassadorial role
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Reasonable success with Wales, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City make Hughes a viable candidate but, in stark contrast to Dalglish, the former striker would stand little chance of being accepted by the Liverpool supporters due to his strong association with Manchester United. There could be a riot on Merseyside were the 46-year-old to get the job
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Has a glittering and broad CV having won the Dutch title with PSV and led the Netherlands, South Korea, Australia and Russia to the latter stages of major tournaments. The 63-year-old’s time with Chelsea – he won the FA Cup with them in 2009 – gained him Premier League experience, but the Dutchman is an outside bet having agreed in August to take over the Turkey national side
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Is best remembered for guiding Barcelona to the Champions League trophy in 2006. He also won two La Liga titles with the Spanish club and led the Netherlands to the semi-finals of Euro 2000. The 47-year-old is, however, enjoying less success with his current club, Galatasaray – they finished third in the Turkish first division last season. Demands that his sides play an attractive style of football
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Thankfully for Liverpool’s cash-strapped board, there would be no need to pay compensation for the 56-year-old following his recent sacking at Real Madrid. The former Villarreal manager guided Real to a strong second place in La Liga but an early exit in the Champions League meant his days were always numbered at the Bernabéu
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The most in-form of all the candidates. The 58-year-old led Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title and the German Cup last season as well as to the final of the Champions League. Three league titles with Ajax, where he also won the Champions League in 1995, as well as two La Liga crowns at Barcelona make the Dutchman a strong contender
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Was sounded out for the manager’s role at Anfield by Hicks and Gillett in 2007 but his stock has fallen considerably since then. The 45-year-old was sacked by Bayern Munich in April 2009 and, despite leading Germany to the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup, is not regarded as a top-level manager
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Having played for Everton for three seasons, the 41-year-old former defender is unlikely to be greeted warmly at Anfield. His relative lack of success as manager of Croatia, a post he has held since 2006, does little to mark him out as a favourite for the role
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