Fabrizio Romano has highlighted one ‘advantage’ that Bayern Munich could have over Liverpool in both clubs’ pursuit of Xabi Alonso as their next manager.
The Bayer Leverkusen boss is one of the hottest properties in European football right now, with his team still unbeaten in 2023/24 and eight points clear at the Bundesliga summit, and there appears to be a growing sense that he could depart the BayArena in the summer.
In his Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside on Thursday morning, the Italian reporter stated that both Bayern and LFC have the 42-year-old as a ‘priority target’ for their respective managerial vacancies in the off-season, and both have ‘already started’ internal discussions over potentially hiring him.
However, Romano pointed out where the Munich giants may have an edge, claiming: “The advantage for Bayern is that they already have a structure in place, whereas Liverpool still need to hire a new director.”
It’s now been four weeks since Jorg Schmadtke’s brief reign as Liverpool sporting director concluded, with speculation ongoing as to who might replace him.
Romano has repeatedly stated that the vacancy must be filled before the Reds step up their search for Jurgen Klopp’s successor, so you’d hope that it won’t be much longer until that critical boardroom appointment is made.
The tug-of-war between LFC and Bayern over Alonso appears to swing one way and then the other on a daily basis, with TEAMtalk reporting on Wednesday that the 42-year-old’s preference would be a move to Anfield, adding that Merseyside chiefs have even offered him a three-year contract.
At least the Italian reporter has asserted that we’re about to enter ‘a really important month’ regarding the Leverkusen manager’s future, and maybe by Easter we’ll have a clearer picture as to where the 2010 World Cup winner could be employed come the start of next season.
That could also contain a subtle hint that, hopefully, Liverpool’s sporting director search could emit some white smoke over the coming weeks.