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Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso back at Anfield – it seems too perfect, doesn’t it?
Alonso has been approached to succeed Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout, according to reports, following flying form in the Bundesliga with the unfancied Bayer Leverkusen. Die Werkself find themselves in an unlikely title tussle with another of Alonso’s former sides, Bayern Munich, who have won the previous 11 Meisterschale shields on the trot – while Leverkusen, in comparison, have never won the competition, remaining the only ever Champions League finalist to have never reigned supreme in their league.
Bayern are clearly a big draw to Alonso after his time in Bavaria under Pep Guardiola as a plaayer – and after luring the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel to the club after spells with German rivals, not to mention countless players, Die Roten will be monitoring Alonso closely.
But Liverpool are a much bigger draw for Alonso – who admitted even after leaving Merseyside for Madrid that he was a Red, through and through.
“I am still a Liverpool fan and will be forever, absolutely,” Alonso told the Times Online in 2011. “The things that I have lived and the experiences I had during those five years are deep in my heart and the passion and respect I had for the club and its supporters are still the same.
“Hopefully I can transmit to my son what Liverpool Football Club means and how special it is, as he was born in the city and he will visit it in the future.”
Sure enough, Alonso has gone on to bring up his son as a Liverpool supporter, fulfilling his promise.
Will it be enough of a pull to accept an offer from the Premier League and manage the club that he loves so dearly, though?
