Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net

Dirk Kuyt says he is not surprised by Xabi Alonso's sudden rise as a manager and urged his former Liverpool colleague to grasp any offer to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

READ MORE: 'Everyone says Liverpool' - Gerard Pique quizzed on Xabi Alonso succeeding Jurgen Klopp

READ MORE: Richard Hughes close to first Liverpool appointment as swift changes made to recruitment department

Kuyt says Alonso was always studying the game during their time together at Liverpool and that marked him out as a natural fit for management.

In a chat with the ECHO ahead of Saturday's legends' match with Ajax, Kuyt said: "Well, you know, if you look at former team-mates and players, sometimes you doubt they can become a coach and then you see them doing really well in a management job.

"Now Xabi is there and I think people almost cannot believe that someone other than Bayern Munich are going to win the league.

I am really looking forward to who will get the job but if Xabi gets it I wish him all the best and I am really proud of my former team-mate for what he is doing there as a manager."

Kuyt admits he was shocked when he learned of Klopp's late-January decision to walk away at the end of the season and says the ideal way to bow out will be to lift the Premier League title in his final match in May.

"I think Jurgen Klopp will always be remembered as one of the best managers at Liverpool but if he manages to win the league on the day he says goodbye to the club, it will be something historical."

On the legends' match this weekend, Kuyt says: "It's always very special to play a legends' match, especially at Anfield, because every time I have played there so far, there was a really big crowd coming up so that makes it even more special.

"And not only are they always my rivals, they still are a little bit, there are also some friends of mine playing in the Ajax team so I am really looking forward to the legends' match and really happy that I can be there.

"It's really special to come back to Liverpool.