In an announcement that has taken the footballing world by grave surprise, managerial legend Jurgen Klopp has stated that he will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
He has guided The Reds to plenty of success across his nine-year spell in charge, with an impressive honours list to boot:
1 Premier League (club's first league title in 30 years)
1 Champions League
1 FA Cup
1 League Cup
1 Community Shield
1 Super Cup
1 Club World Cup
Jurgen Klopp has broken various records at Liverpool, too. His Liverpool side went a mindblowing 1,369 days unbeaten at Anfield from April 2017 to January 2021.
The German also holds the record for the most consecutive matches unbeaten as Liverpool boss with a 44-match streak between January 2019 and February 2020.
The nine-time Premier League manager of the month will be sorely missed at Anfield. For as good as Klopp is on the sidelines, it's his work within the community of the club and the area that particularly stands out to me.
From day one, it was evident that Klopp really understood the club and what it stands for, and his connection with the fans is deep-rooted and meaningful.
It's safe to say, replacing him will be hard. The man even received Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2022!
It was always going to come around, though, and it's vital that Liverpool seek out the perfect replacement.
My recommendation? Xabi Alonso.
An ex-Liverpool player himself, Xabi Alonso made 143 appearances in Merseyside.
Undoubtedly his most important moment for the Reds was scoring the equaliser that took his side to extra-time in the 'Miracle of Istanbul' - Alonso described it as "the best moment in my professional career."
Since retiring from football aged 35, Alonso has transitioned into managing. His first senior role saw him take charge of Real Sociedad B, the club where he began his footballing career, for three years.
Xabi Alonso was then appointed as the new head coach at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. In his first season at Die Werkself, he guided his side to the Europa League semi-finals, falling to Roma.
His second season has garnered intense interest amongst the footballing world. Bayer Leverkusen currently sit top of the table and are, impressively, yet to lose a league game this campaign.
They are four points clear of Bundesliga giants and year-on favourites Bayern Munich, and 14 ahead of third-place Stuttgart.
The Spaniard was rumoured to have been wanted by Tottenham Hotspur after just one season in Germany before the eventual appointment of Ange Postecoglou to north London.
Could he be getting a managerial move to the Premier League after all?
Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen typically line-up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with key players such as Florian Wirtz, Piero Hincapie, Victor Boniface, and Alejandro Grimaldo.
This is atypical of a Jurgen Klopp Liverpool, who have mainly deployed either a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 during his tenure as boss.
If Alonso were to bring any of his Leverkusen players to Merseyside with him, one that would help ease the transition would be the aforementioned Hincapie.
Just imagine a back-three of Hincapie, Virgil Van Dijk, and Ibrahima Konate.
The formation could, however, leave questions as we get further up the field, with the wing-backs providing the width in both defence and attack - this would force Mohammed Salah, if he were still at the club, out of position.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season. Would he be best utilised as a right wing-back, or as one of two men in the midfield pivot?
It is of course a possibility that, if Xabi Alonso was to make the move to Anfield, he could use a different system than he currently is in Germany.
I must reiterate that this is very much a situation of hypotheticals, and we are yet to discover who Liverpool will target to take over the Jurgen Klopp dynasty.
Whoever they choose, though, has some pretty big shoes to fill. To whomever it may be, I say good luck.
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