Steven Gerrard has been backed to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager by former Reds' teammate Jason McAteer.
Gerrard, 39, is in second season in charge of Scottish giants Rangers after a successful playing career with the Merseyside club.
The former Liverpool captain, who started his coaching career with the club's academy, has enjoyed great success since taking charge at Ibrox in May 2018.
After finishing as runners-up to Celtic last season, Gerrard's side are currently level on points with the defending champions at the top of the Scottish Premiership and are preparing to face Hearts in the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup on Sunday.
On the back of his promising start to life in the dugout, former Liverpool midfielder McAteer believes it will not be long before he makes his way back to Anfield.
“Steven Gerrard made a clever move going to Rangers to begin his management career," McAteer told the Racing Post . "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."
During his 17 years in the Liverpool first team, Gerrard established himself as one of the club's all-time greats.
The former England midfielder made over 700 appearances for the Reds and captained the club to a fifth Champions League title in 2005, as well as FA Cup and League Cup wins in 2006 and 2012 respectively.
And McAteer is confident Gerrard's status as a favourite among the Kop faithful would put him in a good position to succeed, comparing it to Chelsea manager Frank Lampard's current situation at Stamford Bridge.
He added: "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.”
