Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou named as candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has already been named as a potential candidate to replace Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp when the German leaves the role at the end of the season.

Liverpool confirmed the blockbuster news on Friday morning in a week that has seen the Reds book a place at Wembley Stadium for this year's Carabao Cup final. Klopp will end his nine-year stay at Anfield this summer after a hugely successful spell which has included a Premier League and Champions League trophy.

Thoughts as to who could fill the German's big boots on Merseyside have seen a list of potential candidates drawn up already with a number of familiar names linked with the soon-to-be vacant position. Reds legend Xabi Alonso is the current frontrunner.

The Spanish midfielder is currently in charge of Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, having previously managed at the Real Madrid youth academy and at La Liga outfit Real Sociedad. Alonso made 210 appearances for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, helping the club to Champions League glory in 2005.

Fellow former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard is also on the list, the 43-year-old is currently managing at Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq, as well as Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi and Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann. Then follows a sight which Spurs fans will not want to see in Australian Ange Postecoglou.

The former Celtic manager took up his post at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last summer and has impressed so far with the club sitting fifth in the Premier League table, eight points clear of seventh-placed Brighton and eight points off league leaders Liverpool. Postecoglou has ushered in an exciting, attacking brand of football and has been busy recruiting in January with Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin arriving in North London.

The 58-year-old has admitted to being a Liverpool fan as a youngster and holding an affection for the club. He said: “It was the ’70s, so you went one of two ways: it seemed they only used to show Liverpool or Man United [in Australia] at the time. So a couple of my best mates went Man United, so I went the other way so we could keep it interesting.

“Like any kid, I had the posters up on my wall, so Liverpool was my team. But you grow up, things change. I used to love ‘Happy Days’ back then too, but I don’t have pictures of the Fonz on my wall today either. So it’s just the way things are.”