The Liverpool next manager odds are suddenly very interesting, now that Jurgen Klopp has announced that he will be leaving Merseyside at the end of the season.
It's sent a seismic shock emanating out from Anfield that will have managers around the world standing up on their hind legs to sniff the air and stare at the horizon. The German will leave behind big shoes to fill in practically every regard, and even a club in as healthy a position as the Reds right now can struggle to find the right candidate to follow on from a manager of such stature.
With odds provided by Betfair, here are the early favourites to have a go at doing exactly that – including a few faces already very familiar to Liverpool fans. All odds correct as of 10:50am on Friday 26th January.
Next Liverpool manager odds: Xabi Alonso (13/8)
The popular former Liverpool midfielder has already started to make a real name for himself as a head coach since stepping up from Real Sociedad B to take the reins at Bayer Leverkusen.
Alonso boasts an impressive record in Germany: his 64 games in charge have produced 41 wins, 13 draws and just 10 losses. They remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season, launching them four points clear of Bayern Munich at the top of the table, and has been touted as a potentially epoch-making manager in the making. It all seems to make sense, doesn’t it?
Pep Lijnders (3/1)
Might an internal appointment be on the cards? Lijnders is Klopp’s long-standing assistant at Anfield – bar a brief departure to join Dutch second tier side NEC in 2018 before returning five months later after being sacked.
That spell in his native Netherlands remains Lijnders’ only spell standing on his own two feet as a manager, though, so it would be something of a gamble for Liverpool to take to hand the keys over to him.
Steven Gerrard (11/2)
Bet you wish you hadn’t signed that fat new contract now, eh, Stevie?
An inevitable name on the list thanks to his genuinely legendary status as a player not so very long ago – but his managerial career to date has fallen a long way short of that standard.
Gerrard did succeed in leading Rangers to a long-awaited league title in 2020/21, ending a ten-year wait after years in the wilderness. But the former Liverpool skipper was unable to replicate anything like that success at Aston Villa, despite receiving plenty of transfer backing, and departed less than a year into the job before rocking up in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ettifaq…where he has also struggled.
Might it be best for Liverpool to leave the memories behind?
Roberto De Zerbi (15/2)
A prospect that should tickle the fancy of plenty of Liverpool fans after seeing how the Italian has not just kept things going at Brighton, but led them to new heights they never dreamed they could reach.
De Zerbi also has his side playing a brand of very attractive, attack-minded football – often seen as an absolute must if you’re going to take on the big chair in the Anfield dugout.
Julian Nagelsmann (9/1)
At 36, still very much a bright young thing in management, even if he’s seemingly been around forever.
The former RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich boss only took the job as German national team manager in September, but with his contract set to expire after the country hosts Euro 2024, the timing would line up nicely for him to go straight in as Klopp’s successor this summer.
Ange Postecoglou (14/1)
Another upwardly mobile manager, Postecoglou won trophies everywhere he went in various football outposts around the world (Australia, Japan, Scotland) before landing the Tottenham Hotspur job in the summer.
Spurs have enjoyed something of a rejuvenation already in the Aussie’s time in charge, and again, he earns notable style points…but there are question marks about his side’s defensive record, with their softness at the back keeping them outside the top four at this stage of the season.
Luis Enrique (14/1)
The Championship Manager legend learned his craft acting as Barcelona’s B team manager during Pep Guardiola’s iconic spell in charge, and has since carved out a very respectable managerial career that has earned high praise from Lionel Messi and Guardiola.
The highlight of his career was a three-year spell as gaffer at the Nou Camp from 2014-17, where he won two league titles and a Champions League before taking over the Spanish national team…twice. Enrique took the PSG job in July, but the chance to move to a more challenging league and go head-to-head with his former mentor would surely be appealing.
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