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Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey has talked up the possibility of Jurgen Klopp returning to the club one day as manager - although he doesn’t want to see Arne Slot fired.
The prospect of Klopp returning to Anfield was discussed by the former Liverpool boss last week during an interview, in which he didn’t completely rule out the possibility - although he did maintain that he is in no rush to make a move back into management.
The 58-year-old took up a new role as Red Bull’s head of global soccer earlier this year, and has suggested he is not interested in stepping back into the management - although it seems a return to Merseyside wouldn’t be completely out of the question.
"I said I will never coach a team in England again, that means if it's Liverpool, theoretically it's possible," Klopp said on the Diary of a CEO podcast. "I don't know exactly, I love what I do right now. I don't miss coaching, I do coach now but just different.
"I don't miss standing in the rain, two-and-a-half [to] three hours; I don't miss going to press conferences three times a week, and having 12 interviews a week. I don't miss that; I don't.
"I don't miss being in the dressing room, I coached something like 1,080 games so I was in a dressing room often. I don't want to die in a dressing room because it's nice. It smells.
"There might be something, I'm 58, I could make the decision in a few years... I don't know. Do I have to make the decision today that I will not coach again but thank god I don't have to, I can just see what the future brings.”
Klopp’s comments came as the pressure starts to grow on current Liverpool boss Slot, with the Reds having now lost four straight league games, and five of their last six fixtures in all competitions.
There is no indication that a change in management is being seriously considered at Anfield, although that won’t stop some of the speculation, especially if results continue to go against Liverpool.
Speaking to 10bet Casino, Heskey has suggested that a return for Klopp might not be so unbelievable, although he’s still backing Slot as head coach.
“For a manager who did what he [Klopp] did for Liverpool, it will be difficult for him watching them in this form,” Heskey said.
“To pull them out of the mess they were in, and then to leave them in the position that he did, Klopp will always be linked with a return, especially when he’s left the door open.
“It’s an interesting one, isn't it? If you’re a Liverpool fan, you will always feel allied to him and you will always want him back to emulate what he did before, but how often does that happen?
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“There’s [David] Moyes at Everton, but it's not quite the same. The pressure is different. The expectations are different. Moyesy has done fantastic, and he’s done fantastic in his whole career. He’s come back from West Ham where he won the Conference League, but now he’s back there’s an expectation that he will do similar stuff at Everton. Especially with the backing, the new stadium, and all the rest.
“The expectation would be totally different at Liverpool, and it’s rare that anything on that level could be repeated if Jurgen even came back in.
“There’s [Jose] Mourinho at Chelsea, so it can be done, but it’s few and far between when managers return to their former clubs and pick up as if they never left. If it could be done, I’m guessing that Jurgen could be the one to do it, although I definitely don’t want Slot to go yet.”
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