Borussia Dortmund have announced that Jurgen Klopp will leave the Bundesliga club at the end of the season.
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Dortmund have endured a particularly poor campaign by their usually high standards, dropping out of the Champions League in the round of 16, currently sitting 37 points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.
Bild believe Klopp wants a break from the world of football after his time at Dortmund comes to a close, saying he currently feels exhausted.
Meanwhile The Guardian report that several high-profile clubs have already contacted Klopp’s representatives but no formal negotiations have taken place.
It is said the coach will take several weeks to weigh up his options but in direct contrast to Bild, the report believes he is very unlikely to take a sabbatical from football all together.
Therefore, we look at five clubs who could potentially be in the running for the 47-year-old and where Klopp and his inimitable style will rock up next season.
Manchester City
Manuel Pellegrini looks at the end of his tether at the Etihad after a quite terrible 2015 – not as terrible as Dortmund’s season mind!
The defeat to Manchester United at the weekend certainly looks the nadir of the Chilean’s time at City with his exit in the summer seen by some as a foregone conclusion.
Rafa Benitez is a name that has been touted as a potential successor to Pellegrini but only as a temporary, stop-gap manager until Pep Guardiola becomes available in 2016.
But with Klopp in the picture, a man who has managed to take a side on a shoe-string budget to the Champions League final – the place City want to be – surely the Premier League champions will be tempted to try and at least sound him out rather than wait for someone they’re not even certain would want to join them.
Paris Saint Germain
Despite the achievements of PSG this season, including their masterful defeat of Chelsea in the Champions League, the players of PSG have never seemed to warm to manager Laurent Blanc.
Blanc has just never seemed to fit at the Parc des Princes and despite the trophies and medals he may win for the team this season it will likely not be enough for a club hierarchy that wants a name respected throughout Europe leading their vastly rich side.
Klopp could be that name.
Real Madrid
It seems almost inexplicable the Real Madrid boss could be on the way out this season just a season after winning the club’s tenth and perhaps most iconic Champions League trophy, and despite the fact his side currently sit second in La Liga by just two points.
If Real fail to win big in Europe again this season, expect Florentino Perez to swing the axe but perhaps Ancelotti will be better for it knowing his incredible services will likely be more appreciated elsewhere.
The question would then be if Klopp would dare accept a role at Real knowing just how interchangeable the club’s hierarchy is and how it’s day-to-day runnings are essentially altered on the whims of one man who is as unpredictable as the wind.
Liverpool
It’s been a bumpy ride for Rodgers this season who to begin with looked to have lost the spark of last season’s thrilling title charge with some terribly dour performances and summer signings that looked far off the mark.
The mid-season resurgence and battling performances shown to get back in contention for the Champions League places shows what an adept manager Rodgers is tactically with his formation change the catalyst to Liverpool’s revival.
But yet another subsequent dip in form has left question marks on whether the Northern Irishman is the man to mount a consistent and prolonged title challenge and whether he has the skills to lead a side to the top of the game.
Klopp’s CV proves he can do just that and whilst the form of Dortmund this season will clearly be a worry, it seems to be the anomaly rather than the norm.
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger will always be the man who decides his fate at Arsenal. The Frenchman still has two years left on his current three-year contract and his side finally look like they are once again ready to challenge for top honours consistently.
Wenger looks hungry again, his side look competitive and Klopp comes hot off a season where his side have imploded and fundamentally failed to challenge – it just doesn’t fit.
Whilst there’s no doubting the German will be a managerial great and he has some career ahead of him at just 47 years of age, Wenger surely deserves more respect than suggesting he might make way for a man who has a lot more to prove in terms of consistency and handling adversity.
Klopp has looked the almost natural successor to the Gunners boss for several seasons now but the timing of this announcement from BVB and his exit from Dortmund mean it’s likely not the right time for both parties and could scupper any potential agreement if he ends up going elsewhere.