Liverpool has been warned about the challenges its new manager will face in trying to match Jürgen Klopp's charismatic presence by former Red Steve McManaman.

Rúben Amorim, the current head coach of Sporting CP, is the current favorite to replace Klopp in the summer. Xabi Alonso had been the previous frontrunner, only to rule himself out last month.

Amorim, 39, has achieved remarkable success in Lisbon and looks set to secure a second Portuguese title with Sporting. However, while McManaman acknowledges Amorim's impressive track record, he worries that Klopp's unique personality and charm will be difficult for anyone to replicate.

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Speaking at the launch of Panini's Official England Sticker Collection, McManaman told the Mirror: "He's got a very good reputation in Portugal. He delivered the title to Sporting and they're fighting for it again this year. Sporting is a huge club, but Liverpool are a different level."

"We all know it's going to be a difficult job for whoever comes in but the number-crunchers, the data specialists, they'll be doing their homework behind the scenes."

He added: "Liverpool are in a really great place. I think practically everybody other than Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and Virgil [van Dijk] are locked down. I don't necessarily think the hard part will be the team; that's going to be around for a while. It's everything else: [replacing] the charisma of Jürgen, his sense of humor, how he got the people of Liverpool, that's going to be the hard job.

"I know Rúben speaks very good English, which is a great help straight away. But everything else, the whole package to emulate Jürgen, is very difficult for anyone I think."

The Reds are gearing up for a future without Klopp by welcoming Michael Edwards back into the fold. The ex-sporting director, who was pivotal in the club's triumphs under Klopp, has returned with an expanded role as Fenway Sports Group's chief executive of football.

McManaman believes that Edwards' return and FSG's strategy, including their goal to establish a multi-club ownership model, are key to maintaining the winning culture established by Klopp.

On FSG's strategy, he further commented: "That's important because as we all know, it's all about how the club move forward. Mikel Arteta will eventually leave Arsenal, Pep will eventually leave City. These clubs will know it way in advance and then it's all about the process of bringing that new manager in."

"I think the fact that Liverpool have brought Michael [Edwards] back is great. They're talking about buying other football teams as well and having a football model type. So it's very exciting times, even if it will be a difficult process."

Liverpool.com says: It will of course be difficult to replace Klopp, given the impact he's had at Liverpool. As the club enters a new era though, that shouldn't put any prospective manager off.

Amorim has shown what effect he can have, having ended Sporting's long wait for a title, and he's on course to add a second this season. He is probably the standout candidate now that Alonso has ruled himself out, and hopefully Liverpool can get its man.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Mirror by clicking here.

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Liverpool will attempt to pick itself up this weekend and go again in the Premier League following the quarter-final exit to Atalanta in the Europa League. It was always going to be a tall order in Bergamo considering the result from the first leg, and many thought Liverpool could do it after Mohamed Salah scored an early penalty at the Gewiss Stadium.

But Liverpool couldn't repeat one of its famous European nights in which it defied the odds to win. Atalanta stayed strong and nullified the Reds all over the pitch. The expected onslaught never arrived, and so the club was eliminated from another competition, ending Jürgen Klopp's chance to win the one trophy at the club that's eluded him during the last nine years.

Now the focus will sharply turn to Fulham on Sunday, and a chance to get back on winning terms after the loss to Crystal Palace last weekend. With Manchester City and Arsenal also out of Europe this week, all three of the title contenders will now focus firmly on the league without European distractions.

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Here, Liverpool.com takes a scan around the Premier League and across the continent to see what's going on at Liverpool's rivals, including Manchester United being linked to a French defender and a former Real Madrid manager being linked to Bayern Munich.

Manchester United wants Jean-Clair Todibo

Manchester United is being linked with a summer move for Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo. Todibo has resurrected his career after his move to Barcelona in 2019 failed.

Since moving back to Ligue 1 in 2021, Todibo has caught the eye of many with his performances, including Liverpool. According to his agent, the Reds tried to sign him back in 2019, only for the player to choose Barcelona (via Tuttomercatoweb).

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The Mirror reports that United want to sign the Frenchman this summer, and given their links to Nice via new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who also owns the club, a deal is very much possible. The report claims that Nice would demand in the region of $49m (£40m/€46m) for the 24-year-old.

Liverpool.com says: Due to his performances for Nice, Todibo is going to be a defender in demand this summer. With plenty of years left in his career, he should be a player for Liverpool to take a keen interest in, even more so with Joël Matip likely to leave this summer.

Zinedine Zidane prefers Manchester United to Bayern Munich

French legend Zinedine Zidane has been linked with taking over from Thomas Tuchel in recent days, and a report broke that Zidane was close to becoming the new Bayern boss ahead of next season (via Mundo Deportivo).

However, French newspaper L'Equipe states that in fact this isn't the truth, and that Zidane prefers a move to England and Manchester United than a move to Bayern.

The French outlet states that while Zidane has respect for Bayern as a club, he has question marks over his ability to adapt to the Bavarian lifestyle and the German language. While the former Juventus and Real Madrid icon doesn't speak English, it's believed that he has a better grasp of English than German, and this is the reason why he's preferring a move to England than Germany.

Erik ten Hag could be given his marching orders at the end of the season after what has been a disappointing campaign for United.

Liverpool.com says: It would be interesting to see how Zidane would perform in the Premier League, especially considering his only success has been at Real Madrid where he inherited a team full of world class players. He would certainly have his work cut out for him at United.

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Liverpool faces a pivotal week in what remains of Jürgen Klopp’s final season in charge. With just one trophy to target now, the Reds cannot afford to drop any more points in the Premier League.

They face three away games in a week, starting with the trip to Fulham tomorrow. After that, it’s back to Merseyside for the derby at Everton, before returning to London next weekend to take on West Ham.

Having had their Europa League hopes dashed by Atalanta, the league is the only remaining hope Liverpool has of adding to the Carabao Cup this season. With just six games left now, Klopp will have some important decisions to make with his side.

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The Reds boss has a near full-strength squad to choose from for tomorrow’s trip to Fulham, with just four players missing. Having gone with a strong side in Italy on Thursday, it will be interesting to see how many changes, if any, he makes to his side tomorrow.

Having been withdrawn in the second half in Bergamo, Trent Alexander-Arnold should be okay to start again. His minutes may have to be managed closely over the next seven days though, given he has only just returned from injury, so Joe Gomez could come into consideration.

The same could be said for Ibrahima Konaté. Given his record, it might be worth resting the French international for the derby, so Jarell Quansah could be in line to return to partner Virgil van Dijk.

Midfield poses a few questions for Klopp. Alexis Mac Allister could perhaps do with being given a rest at some stage over the next seven days, although the Argentine has been one of Liverpool’s in-form players.

Dominik Szoboszlai, meanwhile, has struggled a little for rhythm. Wataru Endō, Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott could therefore be considered.

A misfiring front three has also given Klopp something of a headache. It’s now five games without a goal from open play, highlighting just how profligate Liverpool has been recently.

Klopp is clearly still managing Mohamed Salah’s minutes since his return from injury, and given the Egyptian has yet to rediscover his form, he could be in the rare position of being handed a rest tomorrow. Cody Gakpo has improved of late, so he could retain his place from midweek, which could perhaps leave Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota to battle it out for a place alongside the Dutchman and Luis Díaz.

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Liverpool’s squad is so strong that there will never be complete agreement over which 11 men would make up the strongest possible side if everyone were available. Even without inevitable injuries, form fluctuations lead to inevitable rotation, so the idea of a dream XI can only ever be a concept.

History proves it. The side Jürgen Klopp selected for the 2019 Champions League final had never started together before and never did afterward. Yet on paper, it looks almost impossible to pick a better group of 11 Reds players in that era.

If we focus on the defense this season, the quartet who faced Atalanta in Bergamo looks to be the best available to Klopp: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson. They proved their collective mettle by recording just the third clean sheet Liverpool have kept in the Premier or Europa League in 2024, albeit Atalanta didn’t need to score thanks to its handsome Anfield win.

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If the Reds are to defy their current position of third favorites and win the 2023/24 Premier League, keeping this back four intact for the final six matches is of paramount importance. The combination of Konaté and van Dijk has played 18 full matches in all competitions this season, and the equivalent of 21.6 games in total. Liverpool has conceded less than a goal per game — one every 93 minutes — with the duo, a slight improvement on its record with other combinations.

But as the Atalanta game hinted, this central defensive pairing works well when accompanied at the back by the first choice full-backs. Remarkably, the match on Thursday was just the third in 2023/24 in which Liverpool began with this foursome in defense. The other examples were the first two games of the campaign, in which the Reds failed to keep clean sheets against Chelsea and Bournemouth but did collect four points.

Fitness problems for the full-backs explain a lot of why this premium quartet has not featured more. Robertson has missed 22 matches while Alexander-Arnold has been absent for 19, markedly more games than either Konaté (six) or van Dijk (two) have lost to injury. In a lot of cases, they were not overly missed, with Conor Bradley emerging as a very capable deputy on the right and Joe Gomez performing well on the opposite flank (though not offering the same creative threat as the first-choice left-back).

But the first choice four have provided the foundation for many of Liverpool’s best wins since Konaté joined the club in the summer of 2021. Even though the goals conceded column will always be relevant, consider some of the potent attacking performances they enabled.

The quartet’s first match starting together was the 5-0 win at Manchester United — a game which saw Alexander-Arnold provide an assist and Konaté laugh in the face of Fred. Later that season, they also played in the fantastic FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City as well as Champions League knockout phase wins over Benfica — in which Ibou scored from a Robertson assist — and Villarreal (both home and away).

In 2022/23, the famous four were at the back as the forwards tore United to shreds in a 7-0 win. They also played most of the games once the inversion of Alexander-Arnold into midfield began in earnest in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal. He provided an assist in that game and the next three in which the quartet started together too.

Their collective record is far from flawless, with defeats to Real Madrid and Bournemouth frustrating in different ways. But this backline had a streak of seven consecutive wins together in 2021/22; a similar run starting at Atalanta could yet carry Liverpool to a 20th league title.

Liverpool.com says: Liverpool has gone behind far too often this season but it's fair to assume that would have happened less frequently had the best back four been available more often. With the full-backs able to pin back and occupy opposition wide forwards and midfielders, their offensive work eases pressure on the central defensive pair. It's a system that works and hopefully, it can now see out the rest of Klopp's tenure.

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When the time comes for the Premier League Player of the Year awards to be dished out, the eventual winner of the title race will likely be represented. Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City stars should all be in the running, but there is no obvious candidate.

Sure, Phil Foden has had a remarkable season, but Alexis Mac Allister has for Liverpool and Martin Ødegaard for Arsenal too. It should essentially come down to that trio of options, and whichever player wins the Premier League is likely to have the edge.

Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah would all have been in the conversation had they not either been injured for long spells or less effective than last year, and maybe Virgil van Dijk and Declan Rice should come into it as well. Usually, though, a more attack-minded player wins the gong.

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What is the case for Mac Allister? In two midfield positions, he has been excellent for Liverpool this season. The Argentine has clearly settled into life at Anfield better than anyone else the Reds signed in 2023.

Mac Allister has controlled things for Liverpool and completely transformed the center of the field. Fabinho and Jordan Henderson looked jaded last season and both moved on, but the Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia sagas left a question mark in the eyes of many about where Liverpool would end up.

Months later, Mac Allister has become the complete midfielder. The 24-year-old has become a destructive presence at the base of Jürgen Klopp's midfield at Anfield and has a creative flair that few can match. His unlikely robustness is akin to that of Luka Modrić, who was another player to have the perfect blend of class and strength.

For just $43m (£35m/€41m), Mac Allister was the bargain of the summer. And whoever takes over from Klopp at Liverpool will have one player nailed down in their starting XI without even thinking. Alongside Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah, Mac Allister is another untouchable when everyone is fit.

Liverpool.com says: Foden has been brilliant and Ødegaard is delightful, but if Liverpool can get over the line somehow in the Premier League title race then Mac Allister will have proven to be the difference. The contract between the Liverpool midfield this year and last could not have been more obvious, and he is the biggest contributing factor in that.

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Liverpool might not have beaten Atalanta by enough goals to maintain its interest in the 2023/24 Europa League on Thursday night, but it demonstrated it knew how to overcome the Italian side’s man-to-man marking system. The easiest way to take opponents out of the equation and find space is through playing long passes.

The Reds’ architect in chief of this was Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was making his first start after 14 Liverpool matches and a little over two months since his last one. Per FBRef, he completed nine long passes — those of over 30 yards in length — which is a relatively high total when not playing a full game.

Alexander-Arnold delivered just the ninth instance of a Reds player succeeding with at least nine long balls when playing no more than 71 minutes away from home in the last seven seasons. He was responsible for three of the other eight, with Thiago Alcântara’s Liverpool debut at Chelsea top of the pile, with 13 long passes completed in just 45 minutes.

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It was a far shorter effort that made the greatest impact in Bergamo. An attempted cross by Alexander-Arnold hit the hand of Matteo Ruggeri, leading to the penalty from which Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the game. But it was a long pass from the number 66 which set the wheels of the move in motion, as he released Luis Díaz on the left and Atalanta failed to regain possession until it was kicking off at 1-0 down.

The same link-up started a sequence leading to an Opta-defined big chance just five minutes later. Alexander-Arnold again found Díaz with a long ball and three passes later the Colombian was clean through on the Atalanta goal. While this was the end of the right-back’s lengthy passing contributing to shot-generating moves, he either shot or created three of Liverpool’s six goal attempts between then and when he was substituted.

The Reds were even more productive with their long passing on their previous visit to Atalanta. Four of the five goals they scored that night were assisted by long passes, which is a remarkable total in a single match. For context, Liverpool has eight long-ball assists in all competitions this season.

Alexander-Arnold supplied four of them. He deployed his sublime long-range passing to set up Darwin Núñez in the Carabao Cup victory at Bournemouth, then assisted both Salah and Curtis Jones in the following round against West Ham. As important as these goals were in helping the Reds secure a trophy this season, the 25-year-old’s most vital long-ball assist may yet to prove to be the one from which Salah equalized against Arsenal at Anfield.

Goals inevitably make the passes that precede them more memorable. The long ball against the Gunners was the only chance-creating one in that match but Liverpool had three in both of the following games against Burnley and Newcastle (including two from Alexander-Arnold at Turf Moor), the shots just went unconverted.

Even so, Trent’s recovery from injury means this valuable asset will return to the Reds’ attack for the Premier League title run-in. Neither he nor the team have many peers in this regard. Per WhoScored, Liverpool’s total of 93 chances created via long passes is at least 19 more than any other team in Europe’s big five leagues.

A third of the total has come from the boots of Alexander-Arnold, the top player in England for this metric this season. He’s only four shy of leading everyone in France, Germany, Italy and Spain too, with the four players above him in the standings all having played at least 500 minutes more. The England international can turn defense into attack in a heartbeat.

Liverpool.com says: With Liverpool desperate for goals in open play, the return of Alexander-Arnold could be the catalyst the attack needs. Getting the ball forward more quickly may help Núñez out of his current funk, for instance. Trent has six games left to collect the assist he needs to hit double figures for a fifth time, and a long pass may help him get it.

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