Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim is now firmly established as second choice behind Xabi Alonso as Liverpool pursue a replacement for Jurgen Klopp, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Speaking on the Men in Blazers podcast, Romano said that the Portuguese manager has moved ahead of Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi in the pecking order:
“Ruben Amorim is a concrete candidate for the Liverpool job. I think he’s in position number two from what I’m told. He also has a release clause in his new contract – 30 millions Euros. It’s difficult to negotiate with Portuguese clubs when release clauses are there especially for special people like Ruben Amorim.”
“But for sure the interest from Liverpool is there. I think Amorim is in position number two and is a candidate for the Liverpool job, in this moment more than Roberto De Zerbi.”
Liverpool will have to pay a big fee for their next head coach
As Romano points out, Sporting will only let their manager go if the €30m (£25.7m) clause is met. That is a significant outlay, especially for a coach, but both Alonso and De Zerbi won’t come cheap either.
Bayer Leverkusen are said to be demanding as much as €25m (£21.4m) for Alonso while De Zerbi’s compensation fee is reportedly around €15m (£13m).
A number of clubs are keen on the trio
Liverpool will need to be decisive if they want to appoint Alonso, Amorim or De Zerbi. There are plenty of other teams across Europe interested in securing their services.
Bayern Munich are fans of both Alonso and De Zerbi, while Manchester United and Chelsea are said to be keen on the latter. Amorim has also been mentioned as an option for the Blues as well as Barcelona.
