5 interim managers who could save Liverpool’s season: Klopp, Thiago… Gerrard!? | OneFootball

Liverpool‘s form has been so poor that whisperings over Arne Slot’s immediate future have turned into serious questions.

With nine defeats out of their last 12 outings in all competitions, the Reds are currently suffering their worst run of form since the early 1950s. The 2025-26 campaign could soon become unsalvageable if this continues for much longer.

But Liverpool might have to wait and be patient for their next long-term appointment if they do decide to dispense with Slot’s services.

Julian Nagelsmann has been mooted as one option, but he’s set to remain in charge of Germany until at least the end of the World Cup.

There are also rumours that Xabi Alonso could soon become available amid suggestions he doesn’t see eye-to-eye with key members of the Real Madrid squad, although he looks set to remain in the post for the foreseeable future.

With all that in mind, we’ve assessed five potential options for Liverpool to appoint as interim managers for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

Jurgen Klopp

Klopp’s emotional farewell at the end of the 2023-24 campaign felt very final.

We’d have never believed an Anfield return would ever be possible. That was until Klopp sounded weirdly amenable to the idea in his recent appearance on Steven Bartlett’s podcast.

The German’s reportedly terse relationship with FSG’s CEO of Football Michael Edwards is, in all likelihood, a sticking point. But it might not be a deal-breaker.

While Klopp has looked reenergised of late, we can’t see him returning for another mammoth nine-year stint.

But helping out the club he loves, on a short-term basis, before the Germany job comes up? Stranger things have happened. He and Nagelsmann could do a job swap in July.

Steven Gerrard

“Could we have the Steven Gerrard interim manager era at Liverpool this season please,” recently tweeted The Athletic’s Adam Crafton.

For what it’s worth, Crafton is a Manchester United supporter and is evidently expressing the wishes of rival fans everywhere that’d love to see Liverpool crash and burn in the most chaotic way possible.

Given the trajectory of the legendary former Liverpool’s captain’s coaching career, with a disastrous stint at Aston Villa followed by an ill-advised spell in Saudi Arabia, the chances of him ever getting his dream job at Anfield look severely diminished.

Put bluntly, Gerrard does not appear to have the credentials for a job like this one.

As a short-term appointment to bring the vibes, though? At the very least, Gerrard could lift the spirits in what sounds like a broken Liverpool dressing room.

Get in an astute coaching team for the nuts-and-bolts tactical work, as he did while Michael Beale at Rangers, and it might not be as disastrous an idea as it sounds.

(Who are we kidding, it would be, but the drama would be unmissable.)

Thiago Alcantara

AKA the “f**k it, why not?” option.

An assistant to Hansi Flick at Barcelona, Thiago barely has any coaching experience. He’s the same age as Virgil van Dijk and only recently hung up his boots.

Those are perfectly valid reasons why this would probably be a bad idea.

That being said, the man has an aura. We’re not basing this off anything but a pure gut feeling, but we can easily imagine him being Europe’s next bright young coach.

Mikel Arteta, Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, Pep Guardiola… The list goes on. Basque and Catalan midfielders famed for their reading of the game have the perfect background to become elite coaches.

Rob Page

We’ve filled this list with names that would be outrageously exciting, one way or another.

Page would certainly not be that. But there’d be a sensible logic in turning to the Under-21s coach in a time of crisis.

His CV boasts being the only man to take Wales to a World Cup for the first time in over 60 years, but their performances in Qatar left a lot to be desired and results towards the end of his tenure were dire.

We doubt the former defender really has the tactical chops for the big job, but sometimes needs must and you turn to whoever’s at hand. A boring, competent ship-steadier might be what’s required.

Zinedine Zidane

Call this one your wildcard.

In all honesty, we can’t see this one happening. Zizou’s name has always been tentatively mentioned when it comes to big Premier League jobs, but it’s never felt close to coming to fruition.

The man just possesses too much continental mystique to imagine him sat in the opposition dugouts at Elland Road or Molineux.

We can only respect Zidane for biding his time for the perfect job. Real Madrid. Real Madrid again. France next.

It’s football’s worst-kept secret that he’s destined to succeed Didier Deschamps as Les Bleus boss after the World Cup.

But what’s he really got going on until the summer? Are UEFA shindigs and ambassadorial events really enough to keep the creative juices flowing?

Why not rock up on Merseyside for six months, try and win a fourth Champions League, and sail off into the sunset?