A stunning report claims Real Madrid have convinced Jurgen Klopp to return to management, and what that means for Xabi Alonso and how Liverpool would be affected by his first signing have come to light.<\/p>\n
Klopp<\/a> voluntarily walked away from management when bringing his legendary tenure at Liverpool<\/a> to a close two summers ago. The German, 58, since assumed the role of Head of Soccer with Red Bull.<\/p>\n Klopp insisted he\u2019ll never manage another club in England besides Liverpool. As such, it\u2019s long been speculated there\u2019d only be three jobs that could tempt Klopp out of retirement \u2013 Real Madrid, Barcelona and the German national team.<\/p>\n Despite picking up back-to-back wins in LaLiga, Xabi Alonso remains under intense scrutiny in the dugout at Real Madrid<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fabrizio Romano has strongly hinted Alonso must guide Real Madrid to a trophy in the form of the Spanish Super Cup at the start of 2026. In all likelihood, Real Madrid will have to beat Barcelona in the four-team tournament to do so.<\/p>\n And according to the latest from DefensaCentral<\/a>, Real Madrid are making progress in their quest to replace Alonso with Klopp.<\/p>\n It\u2019s claimed Real supremo, Florentino Perez, \u2018convinces\u2019 Klopp to come out of retirement. Klopp doesn\u2019t want to take a new job part-way through a campaign, and instead, would join Real Madrid in the summer if it all goes down like the report claims.<\/p>\n Aiding Real\u2019s charm offensive are the claims Klopp has asked for two specific signings and Real have obliged.<\/p>\n Klopp reportedly wants a new centre-back and a ball-playing midfielder to coincide with his arrival. Regarding the former, it\u2019s stated Bayern Munich\u2019s Dayot Upamecano and Crystal Palace\u2019s Marc Guehi are the two centre-backs in focus.<\/p>\n A move for Guehi would go down like a lead balloon back at Klopp\u2019s former club Liverpool. The Reds came close to signing Guehi last summer, only to see the move fall through on deadline day.<\/p>\n Guehi will leave Palace in 2026, with all the signs pointing towards the player departing at season\u2019s end via free agency.<\/p>\n Liverpool are understood to be favourites to seal a deal at the second time of asking, but the chance to play under an iconic manager like Klopp at arguably the world\u2019s biggest club in Real Madrid could prove difficult to ignore.<\/p>\n And crucially, as an overseas side, Real Madrid can forge a pre-contract agreement with Guehi come January 1. Liverpool must wait until next summer before getting anything in writing.<\/p>\n Want more breaking transfer lines from original sources? Add TEAMtalk as a preferred source on Google <\/a>to your favourites list for news you can trust.<\/p>\n What about Xabi Alonso?<\/p>\n The report claimed Real Madrid would either stick with Alonso for the remainder of the season before replacing him with Klopp, or fire Alonso mid-season if results remain patchy.<\/p>\n Of course, Klopp would not take the reins mid-season, and instead, Alvaro Arbeloa would likely step in on an interim basis to see out the season until Klopp arrives.<\/p>\n Arbeloa currently managed Real Madrid\u2019s B team and has wowed club officials<\/a> with how quickly he\u2019s improved younger players, his progressive playing style, and his stronger personality when compared to Alonso that should lend itself better to managing the big egos in the first team.<\/p>\n Transfer guru Romano recently confirmed Arbeloa is expected to take the reins if Alonso bites the bullet anytime soon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Latest Liverpool & Real Madrid news \u2013 Winger chooses Anfield \/ Arsenal want Spaniard<\/p>\n In other news, the most in-demand player ahead of the January window who is being courted by both Manchester clubs as well as Tottenham has another idea in mind \u2013 he wants to join Liverpool<\/a>.<\/p>\n