Jurgen Klopp believes Steven Gerrard would make a good replacement for him as Liverpool manager.
The 52-year-old is unlikely to be sacked at Anfield anytime soon given he successfully led the Reds to UEFA Champions League glory last term and is currently enjoying a perfect start to the Premier League's 2019-20 campaign. But it's clear Klopp has given his departure from Liverpool some thought and has identified legendary Reds star Gerrard as the one likely to succeed him.
Gerrard is currently the manager of Scottish Premiership club Rangers, his first major management role, which he took in 2018 following a coaching stint at the Liverpool Academy.
In an interview published in FourFourTwo magazine, Klopp was asked how he felt about having another iconic legend around, Kenny Dalglish, at Liverpool. He responded by endorsing Gerrard as his replacement.
"If you ask who should follow me, I'd say Stevie," Klopp said. "I help him whenever I can. If someone gets your job, it's not about them, it's about you not being good enough. I'm old enough to know that I give this job everything."
The German boss' current contract with Liverpool runs to 2022, but according to the Guardian, the club's owners have no reason not to extend Klopp's current contract. He recently bagged the Best Men's Coach award at The Best FIFA Football Awards, boosting his stock even higher.
Congrats Kloppo The @LFC manager praised his players and had an announcement to make after picking up #TheBest FIFA Men's Coach Award ️ pic.twitter.com/hUfK4jm2ES — #TheBest (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
"It is great, nobody expected this 20, 10, five, four years ago that I would be standing here," Klopp said in picking up the award. "I have to say thank you to my outstanding club Liverpool FC. As a coach you can only be as good as your team. I'm really proud of being coach of such an incredible bunch of players."
It doesn't look like Klopp would be leaving Liverpool soon, but the club might as well prepare for this to happen in case things take a different turn. If the manager successfully leads the Reds to their first title in three decades this season, it could mean his departure. This is what Zinedine Zidane had to do when he led Real Madrid to their third successive Champions League victory last year.
