With 11 games left of the current Bundesliga season, Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen side still sit proudly atop the German top-flight with an eight-point gap to second-placed Bayern Munich.
Leverkusen are still unbeaten, having won 19 and drawn four of their 23 games so far.
If the Spaniard is able to ensure that his team remain laser focused on the job in hand for the next couple of months, this sensational campaign could be crowned by Leverkusen’s first-ever title.
No mean feat, particularly when you consider Bayern Munich have won the last 11 in succession, and were odds on before the start of the 2023/24 season to make it a dozen.
It’s no wonder that two of Alonso’s former clubs, the Bavarian outfit themselves and Liverpool are interested in securing his services.
Both clubs will be without a manager this summer, as Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp, old rivals in Germany and good friends to boot, will be leaving their posts.
Klopp needs a rest and Tuchel has had a disaster of a season at Bayern.
The Reds, as appears to be their modus operandi under John Henry and FSG, have already stolen a march on Bayern it seems.
Xabi Alonso will need to make his intentions clear
According to Sport BILD, the Anfield-based outfit have submitted a first official request to speak with their former player about the soon-to-be vacant managerial post.
Though Leverkusen are apparently not worried about such an approach, it will be interesting to see what tactics they employ now, and whether Alonso himself shows any willingness to move on.