We love to see Liverpool’s job of making Florian Wirtz physically stronger is paying off. The 22-year-old can no longer be pushed away, the intensity and pace of the German international is more and more matching that of the world’s toughest league. But while Wirtz is growing into the Premier League with three goals in the last five league games, Arne Slot will not be able to gather the reigning Premier League champions into a team machine like last season. With the original top candidate Xabi Alonso available on the market and a 1-1 draw against Burnley on Saturday at Anfield, it is “really burning” under Arne Slot’s chair.
When Klopp dramatically revealed that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season, the perception was that Xabi Alonso would replace him. The Spaniard had had an extremely impressive start to his coaching career and was just over halfway through an unbeaten double-title season in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen. Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all wanted their star player back as coach, but Alonso made it clear early on that he was not ready to leave Leverkusen. Arne Slot was brought to Anfield, impressed from the start, but has faltered this season – properly. This week, Xabi Alonso was again available for Liverpool.
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The Liverpool management should have the coach who leads the club to success in the long run, like a Jürgen Klopp. If Slot does not convince after the giant investments in new players last summer, it will burn under his chair. Or rather, with Alonso available on the market after exiting Real Madrid, it is already burning.
The Liverpool management will probably have to make a decision before the end of the season whether Slot is the right man for the long run. The 44-year-old Xabi Alonso is certainly not going to “take a Zidane”. Alonso is an up-and-coming coach who can pick and choose jobs – and does not need 1-2 years of vacation.
Last season, Liverpool didn’t think about the fact that they hadn’t secured Xabi Alonso, the Premier League title with Arne Slot made sure of that. Since this summer, a lot has changed. Slot is nowhere near following up on its success in the Premier League, having acquired players such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. The conflict with last season’s top scorer, Mo Salah, also sends its negative signals.
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With Alonso impatiently sitting on the fence, every defeat for Liverpool with Slot on the sidelines will have Liverpool supporters cheering for club legend Xabi Alonso. A 1-1 draw against Burnley at Anfield makes it even hotter under Slot’s chair.
