Bayer Leverkusen’s thoughts on the likelihood of Xabi Alonso joining Liverpool have been revealed.
On Friday Jurgen Klopp announced he was leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, after nine years on Merseyside.
The German joined the Reds in October 2015 and went on to win the Champions League in 2019 and the club’s first Premier League title in 30 years the following season.
Among the favourites to replace Klopp is former Reds midfielder Alonso, who is currently at the helm at Leverkusen.
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The Bundesliga outfit are currently top of the league and unbeaten, having won 15 of their 18 league games this term.
According to Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg, the Leverkusen are aware that Alonso is on Liverpool's shortlist of potential successors for Klopp.
However, they remain optimistic that Alonso will stay at the club beyond this summer, with the 42-year-old said to be already involved with the squad’s planning for next season.
Alonso took over Leverkusen when they were second-bottom in October 2022, and guided them to a a sixth-placed finish last season. This campaign they have become one of Europe's standout clubs, and are unbeaten in 27 games across all competitions.
Alonso insisted he is “very happy” at his current club, but refused to rule out a future move.
“I have huge respect and admiration for Jurgen. I was very surprised. My focus is Leverkusen,” Alonso said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Leverkusen's clash with Borussia Monchengladbach.
“At the moment I am really happy here. I still have a big motivation and I am very happy with the club and the team.
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the future. I don’t really care at the moment.”
On Friday, Klopp announced he would leave Liverpool at the end of the season as he is running out of energy.
He said: "I told the club already in November. I can understand that it's a shock for a lot of people in this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it - or at least try to explain it.
"I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take.
"It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy. I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again."
Topics: Football, Xabi Alonso, Premier League, Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, Bayer Leverkusen
Chris Byfield