Liverpool are all ready to move to the next stage of their new manager search.
The Reds have been embroiled in a search for the right candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp ever since the German announced his decision to leave in January.
Over the months, the landscape of who will and will not be in the running at Anfield has changed dramatically.
Although thought to be the early front-runner, Xabi Alonso ruled himself out of contention. Others, such as Roberto De Zerbi, also seem to have dropped out of consideration.
In reality, the pool of managers who could replace Klopp is very small indeed. And as Liverpool reportedly close in on their final decision, they look set to offer interviews to the few who could step into the breach.
Liverpool set to interview Ruben Amorim
Over the past couple of weeks, Sporting manager Ruben Amorim has been propelled into being the most likely candidate for Liverpool.
Doing excellent work in Portugal over the past five years, the 39-year-old looks set to win another league title, his second in four seasons. That has marked him out as a real contender.
After Alonso opted not to join Liverpool, there were even claims that the Reds had agreed a deal with Amorim to join. This has since been denied by the man himself. But although the former Portugal international has not yet given the green light, journalist Ben Jacobs claims that it’s now ‘inevitable’ that he will be interviewed in the coming weeks.
“Ruben Amorim has now clarified he hasn’t yet had a formal interview to replace Jurgen Klopp,” Jacobs tells CaughtOffside. “And my understanding remains that mid-to-late April has always been the period Liverpool planned to start interviews.
“Amorim is inevitably going to get an interview, there is pretty much no doubt about that, but so will other managers. Liverpool, as ever, have a process and aren’t going to rush anything or put all their hopes on one candidate alone. That’s just not how they work.
“Their search will be discreet and thorough. The way they carry out these types of senior leadership and football appointments is a credit to the club.”
What other managers could Liverpool interview
The intriguing part here is not necessarily that Liverpool will interview Amorim. As Jacobs says, that has felt inevitable for a little while. Described as ‘ambitious’ by his former staff at Braga [The Athletic], he’ll surely relish that process.
Instead, it’s the assertion that the Sporting boss will not be the only one the Reds ask to pitch to them. It really is a bit of a mystery who these may be.
Names like Niko Kovac have been circulating, but have been dismissed. Julian Nagelsmann could have been in the picture but looks set for Bayern Munich. Just who could it be.
In our opinion, there’s still a chance Liverpool do something unexpected and hire a promising young coach like Nuri Sahin. Maybe Fernando Torres could even be in the running. Let’s wait and see, things should become clearer by the time we reach May.