Steven Gerrard has been tipped to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss in under two years' time by the Anfield legend's former Reds team mate Jason McAteer.
Klopp himself set the cat among the pigeons when he claimed the Rangers boss should follow him on Merseyside.
Gerrard responded by admitting he was "surprised and flattered" before shutting down all talk by claiming Klopp wasn't going anywhere any time soon.
But that hasn't stopped McAteer speculating with the former Ireland international tipping Gerrard to be at Anfield for the start of the 2021-22 season - a year before Klopp's contract runs out.
Gerrard is preparing for a Betfred Cup semi-final tomorrow against Hearts and has led the Ibrox side to joint top of the league with Celtic.
But McAteer said: "Steven Gerrard made a clever move going to Rangers to begin his management career and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if stop two on his journey is Anfield.
"I’ve got an inkling that Gerrard will be the next Liverpool manager at the start of the 2021-22 season.
"I’m confident Liverpool will win the Premier League this season under Jurgen Klopp and then he’ll stick around to try to retain the trophy for another season.
"And whether he succeeds or fails, my hunch is that he’ll walk away at that point and Stevie will step into his shoes."
And McAteer, in his Racing Post column, is certain Gerrard would be a huge success.
He added: "I can see the obvious downside with Jurgen being an incredibly tough act to follow.
"It’s a bit like when Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United - being his successor was the job you didn’t want, but it was also a job you had to take.
"With Stevie, he would be able to walk into a dressing room full of fabulous players and have an outstanding opportunity to continue Jurgen’s work. And of course he would be given a lot of time by fans because of his reputation and his legacy.
"He would certainly look at what Frank Lampard has achieved at Chelsea, where he is doing a magnificent job. I’m sure Frank would tell you he hadn’t expected it to go this well but he always had the cushion of knowing he had time in the bank because of his status among the fans at Stamford Bridge.
"Football management is all about the timing and Stevie will be aware of that. Look at Manchester United and Mauricio Pochettino. That would have been a marriage made in heaven but he wasn’t ready to go, Daniel Levy wasn’t ready to let him go, and United appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer instead."
