Former teammate of Xabi Alonso hints to join Liverpool as Klopp's replacement

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Former Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has claimed that Xabi Alonso could be on his way to Liverpool this summer. The former Germany international played amongside Alonso at Bayern Munich for a brief period and has insisted the the Spaniard has always dreamt of managing Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp shocked the world last month with his announcement of his decision to step down from the Liverpool job at the end of the season. Since then, we have seen plenty of managers being linked with the Anfield hot seat but Alonso has been regarded as the frontrunner for the job.

Alonso has done an unbelievable job since taking over Bayer Leverkusen in October 2022. In his very first experience as manager at senior level, the Spaniard has shown signs that he is a tactical genius in the making. At the time of his appointment, Leverkusen were 17th in the Bundesliga battling relegation. He led the club to a sixth placed finish while also taking them to the Europa League semi-finals.

This season, his side have started from exactly where they left off and are the only unbeaten side across competitions in the top five European leagues. Alonso could become the first manager since Jurgen Klopp to stop Bayern Munich from winning the Bundesliga title after more than a decade.

Given his prior experience at Liverpool, Alonso us adored at the Merseyside club and quite naturally he has been tipped as the successor to Klopp. Schweinsteiger, who knows Alonso very well and shares a solid relationship with, has claimed that the former Spain international aspires of being the Liverpool manager one day.

Speaking about the former Spain international, with whom he shared the pitch 19 times, Schweinsteiger said (via Football Transfers):

"I know Xabi and I believe that it is his big dream to coach Liverpool one day. I certainly think it's possible that he will move to Liverpool in the summer."

Schweinsteiger also claimed that he wishes to see Alonso stay at Leverkusen for the sake of Bundesliga as he finally looks like a manager who looks capable of taking down Bayern Munich’s monopoly. The former World Cup winner with Germany added:

“I want him to stay in the Bundesliga for a bit longer because he is a godsend for the Bundesliga. Were it not for Leverkusen being so good, Bayern would already be miles ahead in terms of points. Then the situation would be different. But because Leverkusen are so good, we have a title race."

Alonso spent five years of his illustrious career at Liverpool between 2004 and 2009 during which he won the Champions League and the FA Cup. The Spanish midfielder made 210 appearances across competitions, bagging 18 goals and 20 assists.

Despite having played for Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Real Sociedad in his career, Alonso has always highlighted his passion for the Reds and admitted that he and his whole family will remain Liverpool family for their whole life. A return to Anfield as manager will certainly be a wonderful story but we will have to wait and see how things work out.