Liverpool & Bayern Munich dealt major blow in Xabi Alonso pursuit | OneFootball

Liverpool appear set to throw in the towel in their pursuit of Xabi Alonso as a successor to Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, with the Spanish coach tipped to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.

Klopp's impending departure has left Liverpool needing a new manager for the first time since 2015. The Reds had wanted to secure the club's updated footballing structure before focusing their attention on a replacement for the legendary German, but have successfully appointed Michael Edwards in a more senior role than he had during his previous tenure and Richard Hughes.

Finding a head coach is next on the to-do list, but it suddenly seems unlikely to be Alonso.

The Times has reported that Liverpool have conducted due diligence that indicates Alonso is "minded to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for at least another season."

The 42-year-old has Leverkusen on the brink of their first ever Bundesliga title thanks to a ten-point lead over Bayern Munich with only eight games of the campaign left to play.

Rather than waste valuable time and energy trying to convince Alonso otherwise, Liverpool are now expected to put more focus on different options instead. Bayern Munich had also been interested in Alonso as a replacement for Thomas Tuchel, set to depart this summer, although honorary president Uli Hoeness has communicated a similar defeatist stance to Liverpool.

"It will be difficult, if not probably impossible [to hire Alonso]. He is more inclined to stay at Bayer Leverkusen in view of their current successes, because he would not want to leave them behind," the Bayern chief explained to Das Erste in Germany.

Liverpool had placed Alonso among serious contenders on their seven-strong managerial shortlist alongside Roberto De Zerbi, Julian Nagelsmann and Ange Postecoglou. But with an approach now considered unlikely, it could change things and potentially strengthen Ruben Amorim's chances.

The Portuguese, currently in charge at Sporting CP, is admired by the Anfield hierarchy but a lack of experience managing in one of Europe’s top five leagues had previously counted against him.