Glen Johnson questions the 'timing' of Klopp's announcement to leave Anfield

Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has questioned the 'timing' of Jurgen Klopp's decision to leave Anfield this summer.

Klopp surprised the footballing world last week when he announced that he will be leaving the Merseyside club after nine years in charge.

The German has won the Premier League and Champions League while in the dugout at Anfield, but said he was 'running out of energy' to do the job.

Tributes for the Reds boss have poured in, since he made the announcement, however one former player has questioned the 'timing' of it all.

Johnson, speaking to Squawka, said: 'I do question the timing of the announcement a bit. If you're a top player that wants to come to Liverpool you have to ask 'who's signing me, is it Klopp or is it Liverpool?'

'Because you don't know if you'll fit into the next manager's system. I know things leak out and it's hard to keep these things quiet, but I'd have thought you'd want to get through January and then worry about it later on. It'll definitely be in the players minds.'

'I definitely think Salah and Van Dijk won't rush into a decision as to whether they'll stay on now because they will want to know what the plan is going forward and who the next manager will be and what Liverpool want to do in the transfer market'.

Holland defender van Dijk recently dismissed claims he could leave the club at the end of the season and has reinforced the fact he is 'fully committed' to the project at Anfield.

Van Dijk, who has 18 months left on his deal with Liverpool, originally refused to commit his long-term future to the club when asked how he felt following Klopp's shock announcement last week.

There have already been suggestions that Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso could succeed the Liverpool boss, given his impressive work in Germany.

However, former Red Johnson admitted that he'd be 'scared' to appoint the Spaniard as Klopp's successor.

'I'd be a bit scared to appoint Xabi Alonso or Steven Gerrard. The next appointment is going to be really tough and I'd be worried about bringing someone in with so little experience. Also, I think we've seen bringing a legend back to manage the club can often not work out.

'We've seen since Fergie left Man United, they still haven't replaced him and we could see something similar here. These kinds of managers are extremely hard to replace, especially for someone with so little experience.

'Of course, in football timing is everything and this kind of dream job may not open up for them again so they'll be tempted to take it, it will just be very hard to have the kind of success Klopp did.'

Alonso himself has since insisted he is 'very happy' at his current club, but refused to rule out a future move to Anfield.

'I have huge respect and admiration for Jurgen. I was very surprised. My focus is Leverkusen.

'At the moment I am really happy here. I still have a big motivation and I am very happy with the club and the team.

'I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the future. I don’t really care at the moment.'