Steven Gerrard is not a shoo-in for the Liverpool job when Jurgen Klopp departs, according to reports.
It has long been expected that the Reds icon would be an automatic pick to take the reins at Anfield when the German finally decides to call an end to his time in charge on Merseyside.
Gerrard has been honing his managerial skills north of the border with Rangers having left his role as Academy boss to take up the top job at Ibrox back in 2018.
However, his time with the blue half of the Old Firm has fallen upon tricky times - with the former England international admitting that he has had to think about his future in recent weeks.
And with his time at Rangers meant to be the launch pad for his Liverpool move, struggling to keep pace with Celtic and crashing out of the Scottish Cup to Hearts is not providing the reassurances the powers that be at Anfield will be looking for in their next boss.
As a result, it appears that he is not the only contender to replace Klopp when he does leave, and according to reports there are at least two more names in the hat.
According to The Athletic, Pep Lijnders - Klopp's assistant - will be given serious consideration to assume the head coaching role.
Meanwhile Jules Nagelsmann - the 32-year-old RB Leipzig boss who masterminded their route past Tottenham into the last eight of the Champions League - is also understood to be of interest.
Speaking in a Q and A on Liverpool, The Athletic's Reds correspondent James Pearce said: 'Pep Lijnders is massively respected by the owners and is a popular figure in the club. He would certainly be part of the conversation.
'If Julian Nagelsmann's career remains on an upward curve at that time he's bound to be of interest too.'
Lijnders is in his second spell at Liverpool, having also acted as No 2 for Brendan Rodgers, before Klopp arrived.
He left in 2018 when he accepted the role of manager at NEC Nijmegen in Holland, but was sacked after failing to gain promotion to the Eredivisie.
Nagelsmann