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Liverpool are currently on the lookout for a new manager as Jurgen Klopp looks to end his final season at Anfield on a high.

However, the Reds have been dealt a blow in the shape of top target Xabi Alonso admitting he’s planning to stay on at Bayer Leverkusen.

Alonso, a Liverpool icon, was said to be a key target for the Anfield hierarchy in wake of his heroics at the Bundesliga club this season.

“This is the right way for me to develop as a coach,” the 42-year-old told Sky Sports.

“I am a young coach, but right now, I feel this is the right place.”

With that in mind, Liverpool now have to look elsewhere for Klopp’s successor, and two particular names are doing the rounds.

Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Roberto De Zerbi are currently said to be high up on the Reds wish-list.

Now, Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Liverpool’s purported interest in both Amorim and De Zerbi.

Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

“Xabi Alonso’s decision means that Liverpool have to turn their attentions elsewhere for a new manager, so keep an eye on two that I’ve already mentioned here multiple times,” he wrote on CaughtOffside.

“Ruben Amorim is higher on the list as of now, and Roberto De Zerbi.

They are two of the candidates but not the only ones for the Liverpool job.

“There could be also other candidates so we will see what Liverpool will decide internally.

“Liverpool are well informed on Amorim’s contract at Sporting and in my opinion he’s a very good coach.

Sometimes he’s been underrated but his level is very good.”

Amorim has enjoyed a swift rise up the managerial career ladder after beginning his journey at Lisbon-based Casa Pia AC in July 2018.

Within a year, the 39-year-old joined Braga, beginning as their B Team manager before taking the reins permanently just before Christmas in 2019, where he won the Portuguese League Cup.

And in March 2020, Amorim was on the move again, linking up with Sporting Lisbon and helping them to four trophies over the past few years.

He won the Primeira Liga title and the League Cup in 2021, and another League Cup plus the Portuguese Super Cup in 2021/22

In terms of what Liverpool fans could expect from Amorim, Braga head of recruitment Paulo Meneses told The Athletic in 2022: “His playing style is clearly pragmatic.

“He is a studious coach, with a great capacity for work and a lot of intuition.

Group work is really a crucial point of Ruben Amorim’s philosophy.”