Former Liverpool star Jerzy Dudek has insisted that Steven Gerrard is the ideal candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp as the manager once the German moves on.
In a column for Polish publication Przeglad Sportowy, former Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek has opined that club legend Steven Gerrard is the best-suited candidate to take over the reins from current boss Jurgen Klopp when the German decides to call time on his stint at Anfield.
Klopp has been the manager at Liverpool since October 2015 having taken over from Brendan Rodgers. Under the German, the Reds have emerged as a force to be reckoned with on both domestic and continental stages.
The 2018-19 campaign saw Liverpool lift the UEFA Champions League trophy, while finishing as runners-up in the Premier League missing out on the title by just a solitary point. They have started the new season strongly as well, winning the UEFA Super Cup while being the only team with a 100% record in the league after three matchdays.
Klopp is contracted with Liverpool till 2022 and the former Borussia Dortmund manager recently declared that he is likely to take a break from management once his deal runs out. This has sparked some questions over who would be the ideal candidate to take over from the German should he decide to call it quits when his contract runs out.
And former Liverpool custodian Dudek, who spent six years at the club between 2001 and 2007 making 186 appearances, has claimed that Gerrard would be the ideal candidate to replace Klopp and goes on to add that the general feeling within the club is also the same.
In his column, the 46-year-old wrote: “When I was in Liverpool recently no-one kept a secret of the fact that Steven is the main and only candidate for replacing the German when his era at Anfield comes to an end. Everyone knows that sooner or later, the great captain will return.”
Gerrard left Liverpool in 2015 and spent a year with MLS outfit LA Galaxy before hanging up his boots late in 2016. The following year saw the former Reds’ skipper return to the club as a youth coach, but he departed in 2018 to take up his first managerial job with Scottish giants Rangers.
Gerrard enjoyed a strong debut season with Rangers, leading them to a second-place finish in the Scottish Premiership, improving on their third-place finish in the previous season. He has enjoyed a similarly strong start to the 2019-20 campaign.
Dudek further added in his column that Gerrard has the tools to succeed as a manager at Anfield. “There are many reasons for success. Steven has a nose for players, copes with difficult conditions and is still learning,” he wrote.
“He also surrounds himself with the right people. He can count on the help of Gary McAllister, who is his assistant and who was in some way his football mentor, because he introduced him to Liverpool.”
It remains to be seen if Klopp does end up leaving Liverpool in 2022. But if he does so, Gerrard seems to be the favourite to take over the reins at Anfield.