Why Xabi Alonso won’t join Liverpool immediately if Arne Slot is fired

Xabi Alonso continues to be linked with replacing Arne Slot at Liverpool, but even if the current Reds boss is fired before the end of the season, he won’t be taking his job early

Xabi Alonso does not want to join Liverpool before the end of the current season, even if Arne Slot is fired as the club’s head coach between now and the end of May.

Speculation continues over Slot’s future as Liverpool’s disappointing season continues, with the Reds’ hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League hanging in the balance.

With just seven league games remaining, the Reds look as though they will have to rely on the Premier League earning an extra spot in Europe’s top club competition, given they sit five points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, and just one point ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea.

Fortunately for Liverpool, it does look likely that England will be handed an extra spot, although that isn’t easing the pressure on Slot at the moment.

His side’s poor form and underwhelming performances have been testing the patience of supporters, with the recent draw at home to relegation-threatened Tottenham leading to fans booing at full-time.

And with Alonso currently out of a job, rumors are persisting that the former Liverpool midfielder is being lined up to replace Slot.

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The club is thought to still be backing the Dutchman, although Sport Bild claimed that the Reds have settled on Alonso as their preferred candidate should Slot be dismissed.

However, the same publication suggests that if that decision were made before the end of the current season, Liverpool would need to find a temporary replacement to fill in before Alonso arrives.

The 44-year-old is said to have ruled out the possibility of taking charge of the Reds for the final stretch of the season, owing to his previous experience at Real Madrid.

Alonso took charge of Los Blancos for last summer’s Club World Cup, despite having doubts about doing so, which Bild says “proved to be a costly mistake”.

Real exited the tournament at the semi-final stage after a heavy 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, which it’s suggested put Alonso under immediate pressure before the new season had even begun.

He would go on to be fired by Madrid in January this year following weeks of speculation about his future, with a fractured relationship with some members of his squad thought to have contributed to his downfall.

Nevertheless, Alonso remains an in-demand option for clubs heading into the summer, although it looks as though he won’t be taking any jobs before then, with Bild claiming that prospect is “out of the question”.