Ian Wright has told Liverpool the manager they need to hire in order to get the fans on side.
The Reds are currently in the midst of a hunt to find the ideal successor for Jurgen Klopp. With the season still going on around them and Liverpool doing really well, it’s not a perfect situation by any means.
Nevertheless, there are a couple of outstanding candidates out there. The main one being former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso.
And speaking on The Overlap today, Wright has shared why Alonso is the right man for the job.
“You have to look at Xabi Alonso and you feel like who else is a better candidate in respects of playing there, the level he has played at, the fact that Liverpool is not going to engulf him in what he is doing,” said the former Arsenal striker.
As he often is, Wright is absolutely correct on all counts here. Alonso would appear to be the man who ticks every box right now.
The one blot on the Spaniard’s copybook is clearly his lack of experience of top level management.
But sometimes, you just get the feeling that a manager is special. If Liverpool don’t take a chance on Xabi now, when they’ve got the perfect chance, you can bet that Real Madrid will. Or Bayern Munich. Somebody will come and snatch him and it will be too late.
It’s also worth pointing out that what he lacks in managerial experience, Alonso more than makes up for with his time playing at the top level.
That doesn’t mean he’ll make a good manager, of course. But it does mean that he is so very well used to the pressure of being at top clubs.
The 42-year-old also played under some of the very best coaches of a generation. Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Vicente Del Bosque, Rafa Benitez. Wonderful tacticians, man managers and everything in between. Alonso will have learnt so much.
Perhaps the key point from Wright though, is how the Basque’s appointment will galvanise the fanbase.
Clearly, losing Klopp is an enormous blow, but supporters would feels excited for the future with Alonso coming in. That’s important.
The Bayer Leverkusen boss isn’t the only one under consideration, so we can’t get ahead of ourselves. Right now though, it would be a disappointment if it were anybody else.
