End of an era.
Liverpool have begun their preparations for life after Jurgen Klopp and although the new manager hasn’t been appointed yet, changes to the squad are already being made in advance.
Klopp announced in January that he would be leaving at the end of the summer, so the club have been trying to seal the signature of Bayern Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso, who is on the brink of winning the Bundesliga and ending Bayern Munich’s stranglehold on the competition.
The fact that Alonso played for the Reds is an added bonus, so he is number one on their list, but while they work on convincing him to return to Anfield, other matters need to be taken care off.
Since the news of Klopp’s departure, FSG have already brought back Michael Edwards as the CEO of football operations, and Richard Hughes has been appointed as the Club Director.
Three Liverpool mainstays to leave in the summer as club plans for life after Jurgen Klopp
One of their first priorities is sorting out the squad for next season, and unfortunately for some, that means letting long term servants leave.
According to Football Insider the pair have identified three players currently in Klopp’s squad that will be allowed to leave in the summer to make room for new recruits, and generate some funds for the new manager to spend.
Joel Matip
The defender has been a mainstay since joining the club and although a lot of Liverpool’s defensive success has been rightly accredited to the imperious Vigil van Dijk, people forgot just how important a role Matip played.
It was he who partnered the Dutchman throughout their Champions League winning campaign in 2019, and even set up the crucial goal for Divock Origi in the final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Matip will be remembered as a cult hero at Anfield, but after picking up a season-ending injury early in the campaign, it appears that he has played his last game for the club.
Thiago Alcantara
Despite being plagued by injuries, Thiago has had some incredible times in a red jersey, with his most impressive performance coming during Liverpool’s 5-0 demolition of Man United at Old Trafford, where the Spaniard was at the heart of everything.
After an injury-ridden debut season, the midfielder was central to their success in 2022, winning the Caraboa Cup, the FA Cup and reaching the Champions League final.
However, his injury curse struck again and he has only played a total of 14 minutes this season, and looks unlikely to return before the summer.
Adrian
Adrian was the hero of Liverpool’s penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea in the Super Cup back in 2019, and when Alisson Becker picked up a calf injury that ruled him out of a string of games in their Premier League winning season, the number two goalie stepped in and saved the day.
Since that campaign Caoimhin Kelleher has taken over as the team’s number two, and Adrian has been more of a goalkeeping coach than anything else, and although his time as a player will end this summer, he could stay on in a similar role.
