Xabi Alonso to Liverpool beats TWO hurdles as Arne Slot decides next destination

Xabi Alonso is reportedly poised to take over at Liverpool if Arne Slot gets sacked, despite two previous issues, while the Dutchman has decided where he wants to go next.

Slot is under pressure to guide Liverpool into next season’s Champions League. Following a dire 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break, Liverpool sit fifth in the Premier League, narrowly ahead of Chelsea, Brentford and Everton.

There have been calls for Slot to be sacked as Liverpool have failed to defend their Premier League title, and their performances have largely been stale.

The Reds’ chances of winning silverware also look slim as they will face Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals and have been drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight of the Champions League.

The fact legendary former midfielder Alonso is available has given Liverpool a huge decision to make this summer. Do they trust in Slot to turn things around or usher in an exciting new era under Alonso?

According to German newspaper Bild, Liverpool are in ‘close contact’ with Alonso as they consider whether to appoint the Spaniard.

It is claimed that Liverpool held brief talks about hiring Alonso mid-season, but he snubbed this option. Alonso also rejected Liverpool in the summer of 2024 by opting to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.

Despite these two setbacks, Bild report that Alonso’s return to Anfield remains ON.

Slot, meanwhile, is determined to keep his job, though he has also started to consider his future. Separate reports suggest Slot wants to remain in the Premier League if Liverpool pull the trigger.

There are likely to be several vacancies this summer, with Oliver Glasner set to leave Crystal Palace and Marco Silva’s future at Fulham uncertain.

Manchester United are also deciding whether to give Michael Carrick the job permanently or hire a more experienced head coach.

Slot will back himself to get a top job in England, having steered Liverpool to the title during his first season in charge at Anfield.

It must be noted that there are conflicting reports over Liverpool replacing Slot with Alonso.

David Ornstein insists Slot will remain in charge for next season as he has the backing of the club’s hierarchy.

Bild, though, claim the 47-year-old will be gone ‘no later than the summer’, with Alonso ‘ready for Liverpool’.

We revealed last week that Alonso is preparing to return to management this summer amid interest from Liverpool and several other top clubs.

This has since been backed up by trusted Liverpool reporter Lewis Steele.

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‘Now or never’ for Liverpool

“Now, what I heard the other day was a lot of these clubs think that Alonso is quite attainable now,” Steele said over the weekend.

“However, it is a bit of a now or never situation because he’s going [to] take a job this summer. Whether that’s [Manchester] City, whether that’s Liverpool, whether it’s well, I don’t know who else, but you know, Chelsea might have sacked Rosenior by them, for example.

“So, it’s either you get him now or you don’t because once he’s into one of them Premier League clubs, he’s not going to be your man anymore.

“Liverpool will be aware of that when they come to make their mind up on Slot, and they probably will have it’s not the sort of thing where they can make a call to Alonso in on the 1st of June, for example. I think his future would be decided by then.”

More on Xabi Alonso to Liverpool…

Gary Neville has cranked up the pressure on Slot, while the coach has also received a brutal dig from an international manager.

Alonso supposedly wants a generational first signing at Liverpool if he is to join this summer.

Steven Gerrard has been mentioned as a potential candidate to manage Liverpool, though this has garnered ‘mixed’ reviews.