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Some Liverpool fans want Xabi Alonso to be their next manager, but it does not appear as though Arne Slot is leaving anytime soon.
The Reds have lost 11 Premier League games already this season, which is their most since 2014/15 (12). They could also still miss out on a Champions League spot this term.
But for now at least, Liverpool plan to stick with Arne Slot and haven’t approached Xabi Alonso this year. However, it has now been suggested that the Spanish coach could take a year off and wait for the Reds job to become available.
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Credit: Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI/AFP/Getty Images Xabi Alonso could snub Chelsea and wait for Liverpool
Slot is under contract at Anfield until the end of the 2026/27 season, and there has been no talk about an extension at this stage.
In turn, even if he survives the summer, the Dutchman could be on his way out of the club next year anyway.
In the meantime, Alonso has been linked to the currently vacant Chelsea role, which would end any hope Reds fans had of him taking over this summer.
But when speaking on BBC Sport’s YouTube channel this week, journalist Guillem Balague has suggested that Alonso could take a year off and wait until the Anfield role becomes available.
He said: “Xabi Alonso has got a plan and the plan was from Real Sociedad B I go to Bayer Leverkusen. If it doesn’t work well I go back to Real Sociedad.
“If it goes well, I go to Real Madrid and Liverpool.
“That’s his career. And Liverpool, I’m hearing are not changing the manager.
“So he could take a year off. Why not? And wait for his time to go to Liverpool. I think that he’s going, that’s where he’s going next. Iraola fits much more the mould of what Chelsea have been requiring and how they treat and what they do with the managers.”
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Photo Credit: Getty Images/Paul Ellis/AFP What Xabi Alonso previously said about Liverpool
This is not the first time the former midfielder has been mooted to return to his old club.
Xabi was approached by Liverpool prior to Slot’s arrival, and has previously explained why he did not leave Bayer Leverkusen at the time.
Speaking in June 2024, he said: “All these decisions, they need to be thorough. You need to really think about them. And it was more about what I had, not what I’m missing.
“For sure, my bond with Liverpool is there and it’s still there. So there’s no, any kind of issue with that.”
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