Liverpool Next Manager: Leverkusen chief makes statement on Xabi Alonso future

Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has claimed he has 'no reason to doubt' that Xabi Alonso will remain in charge until the end of his contract, despite strong links to Liverpool as well as Bayern Munich.

Alonso is hot property in the world of coaching, having taken Leverkusen to a ten-point lead in the Bundesliga title race.

The German side are still unbeaten this season and on course for the first league win of their 119-year history, while they also remain in both the Europa League and DFB Pokal.

With Jurgen Klopp stepping aside at the end of the season, 42-year-old Alonso — who spent five years as a player at Liverpool — is the frontrunner to take over at Anfield.

Initial contact from the Reds has already been made, while the former midfielder appears the standout choice among fans and pundits as well as those within the club.

However, Liverpool do not have a clear run at Alonso, with Bayern Munich also putting together an aggressive strategy to lure the Spaniard as their number one target.

Amid the serious interest, there is also the possibility that Alonso could yet stay put at the BayArena and lead Leverkusen into the Champions League next season.

Publicly at least, the manager has been coy on his future, while club chiefs have regularly played down any talk of his imminent exit.

'We are planning next season with him'

Now, speaking to Spanish outlet Marca, Leverkusen CEO Carro called his coach the 'number one in the world' right now and doubled down on previous claims that he will continue in Germany.

Carro said: "He has a contract until 2026 and we are planning the next season with him at full speed. Nothing makes us think that he will not continue with us.

"At the coaching level, he is the number one in the world at the moment."

While Carro's optimism over his manager's future is understandable, it has been reported that Alonso would be unlikely to turn down negotiations with the Reds.

There had been speculation that Alonso, such is his personal ambition, had a clause written into his contract allowing him to leave without issue should one of his former clubs (Liverpool, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid) come calling. However, Carro has previously denied such an agreement exists, but admitted he won't ever 'force' Alonso to stay.

He told TalkSPORT last year: "We have a very, very good relationship with Xabi and he knows that we are a serious club."

"We are not going to force someone to stay if they do not want to stay. Our goal is for them to feel so good and so happy that they just want to stay with us.

"There is nothing [no clause] on paper, but, sometimes, the agreements that They are not on paper, they are also agreements and we know that if you need to do something in the future, we will be able to talk to each other.

Other than Alonso, the likes of Ruben Amorim, Roberto De Zerbi and Julian Nagelsmann have been touted as candidates to succeed Klopp at Liverpool.