Simone Inzaghi and Roberto De Zerbi are possible replacements for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool next season.
The German tactician has announced that he will leave Anfield at the end of the current campaign, and several rumours have circulated about his potential replacements in 2024-25.
Two of them are familiar faces to Serie A fans. One is Inter boss Simone Inzaghi who is on the verge of winning his first Serie A title as a coach. The other one is Roberto De Zerbi, currently in charge of Premier League side Brighton, who suffered a heavy 4-0 Europa League loss to Roma on Thursday.
Despite that, the Italian tactician, an ex-Sassuolo boss, remains one of the most sought-after managers in Europe as even Manchester United and Bayern Munich are reportedly monitoring him.
Klopp will be willing to end his triumphant spell at Liverpool with a second Premier League title, and Sunday’s game against Manchester City will be crucial in the title race.
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If we only look at the Italian candidates, Inzaghi surely has more experience than De Zerbi. He has never won the Serie A title – yet – but has already won five trophies during his time at the Stadio Meazza including this season’s Supercoppa.
The 47-year-old has won 98 matches at Inter from 146 and surprisingly reached the Champions League Final in 2022-23. Klopp’s next opponent, Pep Guardiola, is well aware of how tricky it can be to meet Inzaghi in knock-out matches, but the same is true of Klopp himself.
His Liverpool side suffered a 1-0 loss at Anfield in 2021-22, but still managed to eliminate Inter from the Champions League Round of 16 that season thanks to a 2-0 victory at San Siro. Klopp had been the only coach able to eliminate Inzaghi from a knock-out round – excluding finals – until the Nerazzurri lost to Bologna in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 this past December.
De Zerbi has been following a different path than Inzaghi and is still not quite close to winning any trophy as a coach. However, his exciting playing style has been praised by many of his colleagues, including Pep and Klopp, so many fans and pundits expect the Italian tactician to sign for a big club at the end of the season, and Liverpool are among the suitors.
De Zerbi’s contract with Brighton has a €13m clause, while Inzaghi’s agreement with Inter runs out in June 2025. The Nerazzurri are already planning to offer him a new two-year deal, and according to Gazzetta, this will be enough to persuade Inzaghi to snub Liverpool. However, the coach’s future won’t be determined until he sits down with club directors at the end of the season.