The dust is beginning to settle following Jurgen Klopp’s bombshell announcement that he will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season – and former Red Xabi Alonso is the early betting favourite to assume his position.

Alonso currently manages Bayer Leverkusen, having been in place since 2022. He played for Liverpool between the years of 2004 and 2009, making 143 Premier League appearances and scoring 15 goals during this period.

What has been said following Klopp’s announcement that he is leaving Liverpool?

Luke Tarr, Head of PR at Star Sports, said: “Following Jurgen Klopp’s shocking announcement, everyone is looking at who will steer the ship for Liverpool next season with Xabi Alonso currently leading the market.

“The ex-Liverpool midfielder is now 8/11 to return to Merseyside after we saw significant money pour in as soon as we opened the market on Friday morning.

“Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi is just in behind at 11/2 and is the next best bet to step up the plate, with Pep Lijnders at 7/1 following his longstanding relationship with the club.”

Who is in the full list of candidates?

As mentioned by Tarr, Roberto De Zerbi and Pep Lijnders are both thought to be in the race to take on the Liverpool job. As well as this, coaches such as former Chelsea target Julian Nagelsmann and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard have also been linked with the soon-to-be vacant Reds post. Nagelsmann is currently the head coach of the German national team, while Gerrard manages Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League.

It remains to be seen who will take on the job after Klopp leaves. The Reds hierarchy must appoint his successor very carefully – he will have some enormous shoes to fill. In total, during his time at Liverpool, Klopp won a Premier League title, an FA Cup, a League Cup and the Champions League.