Xabi Alonso has barely settled into Chelsea, but his former Liverpool team-mate already has him pencilled in for the Anfield dugout. Dejan Lovren, speaking to Swedish betting outlet Hajper, said the Spaniard will eventually come back around to the club he played for in midfield, whatever his current postcode.
“I also believe that in the not-too-distant future, he will one day be the manager of Liverpool,” Lovren said of Alonso, in comments reported by Tribal Football.
Alonso took over at Chelsea shortly before Liverpool parted company with Arne Slot, and Andoni Iraola was appointed as Slot’s successor at Anfield. Iraola is in his first season in the job.
A bet on another Van Dijk year
Lovren’s second prediction concerns the defender he partnered at the back for five seasons. He expects Virgil van Dijk, 35 and in the final year of his contract, to sign a short extension rather than leave Anfield next summer.
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“If he stays at his level then you can see a one-year extension, but of course he’ll have to keep proving that on the pitch,” Lovren told Hajper, as relayed by Tribal Football.
Van Dijk’s current deal expires in summer 2027, and a fresh agreement has not yet been reached. The Netherlands captain addressed the uncertainty this week, telling reporters he was “not in any panic whatsoever” and that he wanted to keep playing.
Iraola wants his captain to stay
Liverpool’s head coach has made Van Dijk’s renewal a priority. English football media report that the club intend to table terms running until at least 2028, with formal talks expected to begin in early 2027. The Athletic’s Liverpool correspondent James Pearce has cautioned that the process may take time, pointing to the long run-up that preceded Van Dijk’s previous renewal.
That timeline sits neatly with Lovren’s one-year framing. A short extension would spare Liverpool an immediate call on a 35-year-old captain and give both sides another season to see where the Netherlands international’s level settles.
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Alonso stays at Stamford Bridge
The second half of Lovren’s prediction is harder to square with the facts on the ground. Alonso is contracted to Chelsea and remains in charge at Stamford Bridge. Any move to Anfield would require either a Chelsea exit or a vacancy under Iraola, and neither is on the table.
For now, the only Liverpool manager Van Dijk is negotiating with is Iraola, and talks over that extension are expected to open in early 2027.
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