‘I did have one conversation’ – Liverpool’s plan to replace Arne Slot with 44-yr-old revealed
Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso was being prepared to replace Arne Slot at Liverpool at the end of the season.
That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who states that the former Liverpool player was a leading candidate had Slot’s woes continued against West Ham.
Liverpool beat West Ham 2-0 to relieve the pressure on Slot, who has been facing growing criticism over the past few weeks.
Slot will be backed by Liverpool in the January transfer window, with the Merseyside club currently sat eighth in the Premier League table.
Xabi Alonso ‘not endearing himself’ amid Liverpool links
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – says that Alonso is currently struggling to get the fans behind his team at Real Madrid.
Real Madrid are currently second in La Liga, four points behind their rivals Barcelona at the top of the table.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness states that Alonso, 44, has “fallen out” with forward Vinicius Junior, who is a transfer target for Liverpool.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Well, we know the famous release clause is a billion pounds [for Vinicius], which I don’t think anybody’s going to be going there to do that, but obviously he has fallen out with Xabi Alonso.
“And it’s interesting that I did have one conversation with a group this week who was talking about Xabi Alonso. If Slot’s decline had carried on, Xabi would have been the one that would have come back to replace him at the end of the season.
“And that’s an interesting thought because of the connection with Liverpool and the way that Xabi is perhaps not endearing himself to some of the Real Madrid squad at the moment.”
Liverpool could lose £120m
Liverpool may be forced into a sack decision with Slot if their position does not improve in the Premier League table.
Failure to qualify for the Champions League next season could mean Liverpool lose £120million of revenue.
Such a significant drop in revenue, and no Champions League football, could make a summer transfer window tougher than anticipated for any Liverpool manager next year.