Liverpool will be forced to look at alternative candidates after Xabi Alonso officially took himself off the playing board this summer.
Florian Plettenberg has since added fuel to the fire around reports circulating over the Reds’ interest in Ruben Amorim.
The Sky Germany reporter claimed on X (formerly Twitter) this morning that the Portuguese coach is ‘definitely a candidate’ for the Merseysiders.
📍Rúben #Amorim, he’s definitely a candidate for FC Liverpool in summer!
➡️ At FC Barcelona, he is also highly regarded. Chelsea is monitoring him, should things not progress further with Pochettino in summer | #CFC
➡️ Amorim favors a 3421 system with two attacking midfielders… pic.twitter.com/TxU0qVlriw
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) April 2, 2024
Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes, however, won’t have a clear run at the former Braga boss. Barcelona and Chelsea could make Liverpool’s life difficult given their watching brief on the 39-year-old.
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READ MORE: FSG closing in on behind-the-scenes appointment in morning update
READ MORE: Xabi Alonso latest: What Bayern honcho is now saying about manager search
Competition Liverpool can handle
With the greatest respect to Barcelona, appealing as they continue to be, the La Liga outfit is far from being as appealing a job as it used to be.
Where do we begin with Chelsea? Plenty of individual talent, to quote Todd Boehly’s reaction to criticism of the club’s ownership, but still no sign of a team capable of challenging for greater honours.
We may be losing a generational manager in Jurgen Klopp but everything is otherwise in tip-top shape.

We’ve got a young and hungry squad and a superb set-up behind the scenes from William Spearman to Richard Hughes.
Everything’s in place for the next Liverpool manager to be a roaring success on Merseyside.
Someone just has to take that leap of faith and fill Klopp’s shoes!