Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has excelled as a manager in Germany and to some extent in Spain, but his future at Real Madrid is up in the air.
Before Arne Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp, Alonso was linked to Liverpool as a potential target.
However, he remained in Germany and helped Bayer Leverkusen clinch the Bundesliga title over Bayern Munich.
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At the close of 2024/25, the Spaniard departed to sign for Real Madrid, but his future is now in doubt.
Reports coming out this week suggest Alonso would be open to joining Liverpool, amid potential issues with his stint at Los Blancos.
Should the former midfielder return to Anfield in the dugout, one player should benefit a great deal.
Former Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso winking during a Bundesliga game.
Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Xabi Alonso can fix Liverpool’s defence
Speaking to Real Madrid’s official website in July, Alonso spoke about how important it is to be defensively sound.
He said: “Defensive solidity and discipline are fundamental and something we’ve tried to transmit from the start. The lads are eager and willing and that’s essential. They’re keen to absorb what the people who have come from Germany are asking of them.”
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It’s fair to say that is something that has been sorely lacking at Anfield under Slot this season, with the Reds already shipping 20 goals in 12 matches.
Xabi, though, has shown at Leverkusen (24 conceded in 23/24) and at Real Madrid this term (12 conceded in 13), that his teams are often the best in the division when it comes to shutting the opposition out.
If Alonso is to turn things around at Liverpool, though, he will need a defensive-minded midfielder to anchor his backline, that man is Wataru Endo.
Xabi Alonso would love Wataru Endo
Endo is frustrated with his lack of game time at Liverpool this season, expressing his concern while on international duty with Japan earlier this month.
He said: “I haven’t played many games, but I played with the feeling that I had to perform at a high level. I was conscious of organising the whole team well and how to defend in difficult situations.
“It was a milestone match, so I think it was good that we won, but I’m not completely satisfied. So first I’ll go back to my club and do my best so that I can meet you again in March with a good face.
Endo has played just 36 minutes of Premier League football this term. That makes very little sense, given how bad the Reds have been defensively this season, and even less so after Stephen Warnock called the Liverpool ace ‘superb’ after a rare outing in the Carabao Cup.
Players like Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister have been favoured ahead of him despite the Japan international clearly offering more solidity in defence.
Under Jurgen Klopp in 2023/24, for example, Liverpool were conceding 0.73 goals per game with Endo in the eleven, compared to 1.11 per 90 without.
For whatever reason, though, Slot has pushed him out of the team, and it’s little surprise to see their defence is now struggling.
As expected, given his playing career, the former Liverpool man puts a huge emphasis on keeping a tight backline, and as it’s already obvious what a huge impact Endo has on the Reds defensively, he would surely be a regular feature under the 44-year-old.
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