Liverpool's Champions League quarter-final tie with PSG could be decisive in the tenure of Arne Slot.
Last campaign, the Dutchman achieved the remarkable. In his debut year at the Anfield helm, he engineered Premier League title success.
Yet, in 2025/26, everything has unravelled. The Reds sit fifth in the league table, a whopping 21 points behind league leaders Arsenal. As a result, Slot is under pressure.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot reacts during the match
It is perhaps a surprise he hasn't been given the boot yet, but after a heavy defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup a few days ago, another big aggregate loss to the European champions could be curtains for the manager.
So, who could replace him if the Dutchman does get handed his P45?
The favourites to replace Arne Slot at Liverpool
The Slot reign at Anfield has been a topsy-turvy state of affairs but up to this point, it has made sense that Liverpool give him until the end of the season to see things out.
However, there is no getting away from the fact that Liverpool are seemingly in free fall and with the news that Mo Salah will be leaving, it feels like the ideal time to have something of a reset in Merseyside.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah-1
A remarkable return for Jurgen Klopp has been mooted in some quarters but that seems very unlikely. Other names include Enzo Maresca who was linked with the vacancy last week and PSG boss Luis Enrique.
Perhaps a more realistic appointment would be Julian Nagelsmann who is also reportedly in the frame.
However, the favourite for the job undoubtedly appears to be one of their former players in the shape of Xabi Alonso. Reports have been rife in recent weeks suggesting that the Spaniard could head back to Anfield in a management capacity.
Well, TEAMtalk have the latest on the saga, suggesting that after some time away from the game having being sacked by Real Madrid, Alonso is now 'ready to step back into the dugout'.
Xabi Alonso record at Real Madrid (timeless)
While no direct talks have taken place between the Spanish tactician and Liverpool, it does hand the club's hierarchy an opportunity to press forward with an approach.
The report claims that Alonso's camp has not denied that a move back to England is on the cards at some point.
Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid
Having previously played for the club, there is a big emotional pull there and the fact that he will always consider himself a Liverpool supporter only adds further fuel to the fire.
Why Alonso could be Liverpool's own Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has won everything there is to win as a manager. He is the second most decorated head coach of all time, winning 40 trophies. He's only nine behind the great Sir Alex Ferguson.
Yet, in Alonso, the Reds could hire their own version of the esteemed Spaniard. Why? Well, they are certainly cut from a similar cloth, with the Liverpool target admitting back in April 2016, while he was still playing, that "Pep Guardiola represents my version of perfection in football."
As a result, it won't come as much of a surprise to learn that plenty of the former midfielder's managerial philosophies come from Pep. Indeed, Catalan writer Marti Perarnau told The Athletic back in December: "The relationship between Pep and Xabi at Bayern was very good, and very intense. They established a friendship, which extended to the families. Xabi wanted to understand Pep’s ideas and constantly asked for details to learn them. He was like a sponge, absorbing Guardiola’s ideas about the game.”
While success did not follow for Alonso at Real Madrid, given his marching orders just months into his tenure at the Bernabeu, he achieved some incredible things at Bayer Leverkusen.
The World Cup winner has always been held in high esteem but it was in Germany where his stock as a coach really rose, notably winning the Bundesliga title unbeaten, pipping Bayern Munich to the post in a rare feat. They also got to the Europa League final that same campaign.
Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen
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So, what is the Guardiola way? Well, it's very much possession-based, taking influence from the classic tiki-taka style. Yet, it has developed beyond that. It's about tactical flexibility, positional play and exerting control over the opposition.
That's very much what Alonso's style of play is born from and it's not much of a shock that plenty of Pep's disciples, Mikel Arteta included, have sought to employ a similar style of play.
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before the match
Like Arteta and Guardiola, Alonso puts a lot of emphasis on build-up play, not to mention they all have that typical Spanish ideology and charm.
If Slot is to really walk away from Anfield, then it doesn't feel as though there are many better options out there right now than Alonso. Nagelsmann and Enrique have great appeal but it doesn't boast the romance of a return to Merseyside that Alonso would bring.
At the age of just 44, he could be ready to create a Klopp-like dynasty in Liverpool.
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