After the worst possible start, Easter Sunday ended up being a perfect day for Liverpool in their pursuit of the Premier League title. The Reds conceded after only 90 seconds against a well-drilled Brighton & Hove Albion side, before eventually coming back to win 2-1.
Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal played out a bore fest at the Emirates, meaning that Jürgen Klopp’s men now sit top of the table with nine games to go.
The search for Jürgen’s successor took a big twist last week, with fans and bookies’ favourite Xabi Alonso committing to at least another season with Bayer Leverkusen. He has been replaced by Sporting CP’s Rúben Amorim as the most likely man to take the Anfield hot seat come summer.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight show, we spoke to experienced LFC journalist Neil Jones for his thoughts on Amorim.
Everything you NEED to know about Ruben Amorim | The Deep Dive
Neil said:
“First of all, I was surprised by Alonso committing his future. I thought that was the least likely of the possibilities that were swirling, but good for him in a way.
“Amorim’s got a lot of boxes ticked and a few that he hasn’t. He’s won stuff, that’s good. He’s won leagues and cups. He’s potentially going to win another league. He has perfect English. He’s managed in Europe.”
“He’s improved players. You look at some of the players in his team at the moment. Look at others who’ve moved on: Palhinha, Mateus Nunes – they speak about him as, ‘Yeah, he gets it.’
“His teams play good football and in particular seem to have a good defensive element to them whilst not losing too much from the attacking sense, so that’s positive.
“Coming across to manage in the Premier League against Pep Guardiola, against Arsenal, against Manchester United, against Chelsea – you might not challenge for the title, but you might fall out of the top four if you have an indifferent season.
“That’s how competitive it is. That would be the question mark around him. Can he make that transition?
“He’s young enough. He’s got a decent CV already. He looks like someone who can go and manage one of the big clubs in Europe.
“It might not be the perfect time or the perfect situation, but it might just be the one that you go, ‘Let’s find out.’”
“XABI ALONSO WILL MANAGE LIVERPOOL” GUILLEM BALAGUE ON SPANIARD’S FUTURE
Redmen Reacts
There were a few Liverpool fans saying their Easter bank holiday weekend had been spoiled by Alonso’s news breaking last Thursday night. Thankfully, results on the pitch soon put that right, with attention now turning to new betting favourite Rúben Amorim. The 39-year-old certainly has his admirers and is considered one of the most talented young managers in Europe. He has had success so far in his short managerial career, winning three cups and one Primeira Liga title. His Sporting side also dumped high-flying Arsenal out of last season’s Europa League. Liverpool have had strong links to Portuguese football through Michael Edwards and Julian Ward, which could potentially work in Amorim’s favour when it comes to landing the top job. The former Portuguese international also scores highly across various statistical metrics – something FSG are renowned for incorporating in their decision-making.
