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Why Xabi Alonso May Be Waiting on Liverpool

The pressure on Arne Slot continues to rise with every uneven performance, and yet the silence from Liverpool’s hierarchy is telling. This does not feel like indecision. It feels like timing. Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes are not blind to the issues facing the current regime, nor are they unaware of the growing disconnect between structure, confidence, and results. But the next move is too important to rush — largely because the man they appear to want most is not ready to walk through the door yet.

Xabi Alonso looms over every conversation, and that shadow explains much of Liverpool’s current paralysis.

Alonso’s Demands and the Importance of a Clean Start

Alonso is not reluctant because of fear or uncertainty. He is reluctant because he is precise. His brief spell at Real Madrid exposed a fault line that is central to his philosophy: he demands work, structure, and tactical obedience. The Galáctico environment — one that prioritised individual autonomy and star power — was never going to allow him to impose himself fully. Training intensity, positional discipline, and collective sacrifice were always going to clash with a squad conditioned to manage itself.

More importantly, Alonso never truly had a pre-season. The expanded Club World Cup consumed the summer of 2025, robbing him of the one period every system-heavy coach requires most. His preferred 3-4-3 — built on automatisms, spacing, and relentless repetition — cannot be installed mid-season without collateral damage. Alonso understands that better than anyone.

That is why Anfield now, in February, makes little sense. Liverpool is wounded, structurally incomplete, and tactically uncertain. Defensive injuries have exposed squad imbalance, the midfield lacks clarity of roles, and the attacking patterns oscillate wildly depending on opponent behaviour. Stepping into that environment now would mean firefighting rather than building — and Alonso does not do temporary solutions.

If he takes Liverpool, it will be on his terms: recruitment aligned to his system, a full pre-season to drill it, and the authority to reshape roles without compromise. Anything less risks repeating the Madrid experience, and Alonso will not make the same mistake twice.

Liverpool’s Limbo and the Cost of Waiting

This leaves Liverpool in an uncomfortable holding pattern. Arne Slot’s position is increasingly untenable, yet removing him without Alonso ready creates chaos rather than clarity. Edwards and Hughes are well aware of what happens when clubs pivot tactically without preparation — Manchester United’s recent struggles under Ruben Amorim stand as a warning. Changing system, squad profile, and manager simultaneously is a gamble that rarely pays off.

And yet, the suffering may continue. Liverpool’s problems against low blocks, their reliance on moments rather than control, and the lack of a coherent rest-defence structure are not issues that can be patched in weeks. Slot looks overwhelmed, searching for solutions within a framework that no longer convinces his players. Confidence is eroding. Control is fleeting.

Still, from a strategic perspective, patience may be the lesser evil. Appointing an interim or forcing an early Alonso arrival risks blurring accountability and wasting the most valuable currency Alonso requires: time. Liverpool’s hierarchy appears willing to absorb short-term pain to secure long-term alignment.

That does not make the present any easier to watch. Results may wobble. Qualifications may tighten. The atmosphere may sour. But if Alonso arrives in June with authority, preparation, and backing, this season may ultimately be remembered as the necessary bridge between eras.

Liverpool is not waiting because they lack courage. They are waiting because they believe the next chapter must begin cleanly — and only when Xabi Alonso is ready to write it.

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