‘Now or never’ for Xabi Alonso to Liverpool as generational first signing decided | OneFootball

Liverpool have been told which two Premier League sides they could face competition from for Xabi Alonso, with the Spaniard seemingly already making plans for his first season back at Anfield.

Arne Slot is fighting for his future as Liverpool head coach amid the team’s poor title defence. The Reds sit in the fifth and final Champions League qualification place, but they are being chased by Chelsea, Brentford and Everton.

Liverpool’s chances of winning silverware appear slim, as they have been drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals and will face Manchester City in the FA Cup, while they were knocked out of the League Cup by Crystal Palace.

Slot will likely need to steer Liverpool into the Champions League qualification spots to keep his job, though the recent 2-1 defeat to Brighton did him no favours.

Alonso has been a free agent since his sacking by Real Madrid in January, and the former midfielder’s availability is casting a big shadow over Slot’s future.

Liverpool chiefs are facing a huge decision on Alonso this summer, as Anfield reporter Lewis Steele has warned that the Reds icon could join Chelsea if FSG opt to continue with Slot.

“Now, what I heard the other day was a lot of these clubs think that Alonso is quite attainable now,” Steele told Anfield Index.

“However, it is a bit of a now or never situation because he’s going [to] take a job this summer. Whether that’s [Manchester] City, whether that’s Liverpool, whether it’s well, I don’t know who else, but you know, Chelsea might have sacked Rosenior by them, for example.

“So, it’s either you get him now or you don’t because once he’s into one of them Premier League clubs, he’s not going to be your man anymore.

“Liverpool will be aware of that when they come to make their mind up on Slot, and they probably will have it’s not the sort of thing where they can make a call to Alonso in on the 1st of June, for example. I think his future would be decided by then.”

Reports claimed on Saturday that Alonso has landed on Real Madrid playmaker Arda Guler as his first Liverpool target.

Alonso was key to Guler’s development during his time at the Bernabeu and is seeking a reunion on Merseyside.

Guler would be a spectacular signing for Liverpool as he is a world-class talent who has been affectionally labelled the ‘Turkish Messi’.

However, Madrid would want a huge fee of over £100million to sell the attacking midfielder.

Steele’s comments come after we revealed on Tuesday that Alonso is ready to return to management this summer.

Xabi Alonso favourite for the Liverpool job

We can confirm that Alonso is in pole position for the Liverpool job, despite Andoni Iraola and Sebastian Hoeness also being liked.

German outlet Bild state that Alonso is ‘ready for Liverpool’ and has already reached an agreement with the club, with Slot set to leave ‘no later than the summer’.

“All our information, despite reports to the contrary, is that Liverpool are sticking with Arne Slot,” Ornstein said earlier this week.