Alonso IS the frontrunner to succeed Klopp at Reds as De Zerbi also top of list

Xabi Alonso is the front-runner to take over from departing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool this summer with the search for a successor under way, though the Reds are not rushing to make a decision and will assess many options with a thorough recruitment process.

Klopp, 56, dropped the bombshell news on Friday morning that he is planning to leave the Anfield club after eight and a half years at the helm, insisting ‘we are no young rabbits any more and don’t jump as high as we did’.

The German informed Mike Gordon, chief of owners Fenway Sports Group, over the phone in November and insisted there was nothing that would change his mind. Gordon, and others in the tight-knit group of those keeping football’s best-kept secret, then plotted the next steps.

Liverpool have a shortlist of targets but it is understood they did not want to directly approach targets, or their entourages, until the news of Klopp’s departure was made public as that could be seen as going behind the current manager’s back.

But the Reds will now step up that search, with Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso certainly near the top of their list, along with Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi. Other names mentioned will be Ange Postecoglou of Tottenham, Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann and Brentford’s Thomas Frank.

Klopp’s right-hand man Pep Lijnders has long been touted as a potential successor but he will also leave the club, along with Peter Krawietz and Vitor Matos. Fitness guru Andreas Kornmayer and goalkeeping coach John Achterberg have not left but face an uncertain future.

Sources in Germany suggest Alonso has an unwritten deal with Leverkusen chiefs that they would not stand in his way if one of Europe’s elite clubs approached him this summer. The former Liverpool midfielder has Leverkusen top of the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern Munich.

Real Madrid have been long-time admirers of Alonso but boss Carlo Ancelotti signed a new deal in the Spanish capital last month which could give Liverpool a more clear path to the Leverkusen coach. The last non-Bayern manager to win the Bundesliga was, of course, Klopp.

Meanwhile, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk yesterday became the first Reds player to break their silence on the shocking news of Klopp’s departure. ‘It's a hard one to take, because the manager means so much for us, to me, to the club, to the whole Premier League,’ he said.

‘But he made the decision for him and his family. It was always going to be a tough one and it was definitely the case. We all want to achieve so much and that mindset was already there since pre-season and that doesn’t change.

‘It will maybe even give you an extra boost to do that and make the last bit of the manager’s time at the club the best time he’s ever had. Let’s make the rest of the season a special one so he can have the farewell that he definitely deserves.’