Former Liverpool player Glen Johnson expressed worry that if the German manager’s successor is unable to rapidly duplicate his predecessor’s success, then Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah would follow Jurgen Klopp and leave Anfield.
Last month, the 56-year-old unexpectedly announced that he would be leaving the club after nine trophy-filled years on Merseyside, shocking the whole football community.
Following his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season, which he announced to the Liverpool management in November, Klopp cited the reason that he was ‘running out of energy’.
Liverpool are currently looking at options to replace Klopp, with Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso, Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi and Sporting boss Ruben Amorim being linked with the Anfield job.
Johnson pointed out that both Salah and Alexander-Arnold have fewer than 18 months remaining on their contracts. If fresh agreements between Liverpool and star players cannot be reached, Johnson said, they may be able to talk about possible moves with other teams as early as January 2025.
‘Let’s be real, who’s not going to take Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah on the cheap,’ Johnson told the Sun.
‘I don’t believe we’ll see a big exodus at Liverpool this summer if the contract situations don’t get sorted now – which they won’t do because the players are going to want to know what’s going on.
‘If they have a bad start to next season, then a year from now we will be discussing about them having six months left on their contracts. If that happens, Liverpool will be in trouble because Trent and Mo can attract interest from any club they want.’
The former defender, who spent six years with the Reds and made over 200 appearances, continued by saying Liverpool should try to find a standout manager as soon as possible ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
‘If Liverpool try and sign a top player in the summer, they will want to know who is replacing Jurgen?
‘Jurgen pulls people in and Jose Mourinho did the same thing. They’re examples of managers that top players want to play for.
‘You need to excite the players to encourage them to move to Liverpool. The club is a huge draw for players in its own right. But knowing who the manager is, is also very important.’
Whoever replaces Klopp at Anfield will have one of the most difficult jobs in world football. To replace the inspiring German manager will not be easy and Liverpool supporters will be expecting the same style of play, the same energy and the same results from their team that Klopp delivered consistently during his nine year tenure.
