Liverpool suffer blow as fierce rival emerges for Xabi Alonso

Liverpool now have a fierce rival for Xabi Alonso. The Reds view him as their primary target to replace Jurgen Klopp this year.

The Times reports that Bayern Munich are ready to move for Xabi Alonso as their next manager. Thomas Tuchel's days are now numbered after his 10th defeat as boss.

Bayern lost 1-0 to Lazio on Wednesday. It means Tuchel has lost as many games as manager as his predecessor, Julien Nagelsmann, despite overseeing 41 fewer matches.

Thus Bayern expect to move Tuchel on. Elimination from the Champions League could even see them sack him before the season ends - as soon as next month, in fact.

And the report claims that Alonso is their no.1 choice to replace him. There's also talk of Hansi Flick as a caretaker boss - a role he held in 2020 as Bayern won the Treble. Flick is now out of work and could jump straight in.

Alonso couldn't, of course. He's at Bayer Leverkusen, sitting on top of the Bundesliga and on track to end Bayern's dominance in Germany.

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This is unquestionably a blow to Liverpool. It's not exactly a secret that the Reds want Alonso to replace Jurgen Klopp, who will step down at the end of the season.

Alonso reportedly has three clubs he wishes to manage - Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The fact that two of those jobs look likely to open up at the same time is ridiculously unfortunate for one of them.

Really, it's unfortunate for both as they'll now face a fight for a manager who would otherwise be a fairly routine hire. Especially as claims suggest Alonso wants to wait until the end of the season before making a decision.

However, Liverpool probably saw this coming. We suggested it ourselves on Wednesday after reports that Tuchel was busy offering his services to Barcelona.

It's a blow no matter how you look at it - hopefully the Reds can overcome it and land their man.