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Steven Gerrard has hit the headlines by offering his opinion on the Mohamed Salah saga.
But could the Liverpool legend be coaching the Egyptian forward very soon? Salah has dominated the agenda this week after accusing the Reds of throwing him "under the bus" following the 3-3 draw at Leeds on Saturday, a game he watched from the bench.
The 33-year-old also claimed that he has no relationship with manager Arne Slot. Jamie Carragher has speculated whether Salah is trying to get Slot fired after the player was benched in the Premier League, with the Dutch coach under huge pressure at Anfield.
The Reds find themselves 10th in the Premier League after winning just two of their last 10 games in the division. It's not inconceivable that Liverpool's hierarchy will make a change in the dugout if results don't start to improve over the coming weeks.
There's even speculation that Gerrard could replace Slot in the dugout on a temporary basis, should the latter be fired. The former Aston Villa boss has already worked out how the Merseyside club should handle the situation with Salah.
"He's obviously really upset he's not playing, which I respect," Gerrard told TNT Sports. "He won't sit out of the team, which I respect. A couple of lines about throwing people under the bus – wrong.
"He needs to reverse a little bit away from that. He needs to deal with that with the manager. This needs (Liverpool captain) Virgil van Dijk to say, 'How are we sorting this out for the benefit of...' not even so much the club or the team – it's the fans.
"I've seen this, and I've lived it, with (Luis) Suarez when he fell out with Brendan (Rodgers), face to face. I've seen it all.
"I've been there myself from a personal point of view: I did the (equivalent of the) Salah statement (on the pitch) when I got sent off after 30 seconds against (Manchester) United. No one's perfect; we've all had head losses as players, we've all done emotional things.
"I know in time when it calms down, Mo will go, 'I shouldn't have said that, I maybe shouldn't have said that, I was a bit emotional, and I was a bit hasty.'
"At the end of the day, Liverpool need Mo Salah back playing well, back scoring goals, because he is their best player, their best scorer, and he will help them get out of this. If this goes on, this is bigger than what we all know and what we see."
Will Steven Gerrard become Liverpool's manager?
While Gerrard knows how to handle to situation with Salah, a lot still needs to happen for him to become Liverpool's manager. As it stands, Slot still has time on his hands after winning the Premier League title last season and picking up a result on Tuesday.
Liverpool beat Inter Milan 1-0 at the San Siro in Italy to boost the team's hopes of a top-eight Champions League finish; Salah didn't play in the European game after being dropped from the squad following his outburst at Leeds.
There are also question marks over Gerrard's managerial pedigree. The ex-midfielder did a fabulous job at Rangers, winning the Scottish Premiership title in 2021 to halt Celtic's dominance in the country. Yet he was fired by Villa after only 11 months in charge and failed to make much of an impression during his spell at Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq.
Gerrard may need to take another job in England or abroad if he's to prove himself as a potential Liverpool manager.
But it's not uncommon for a club legend to be dragged out of the managerial wilderness and given a top job - just ask Chelsea fans. Frank Lampard was brought in as interim manager at Stamford Bridge in 2023, despite his struggles at Everton earlier in the season.
The Blues also made Roberto Di Matteo their interim manager in 2012, just a year after he was fired by fellow Premier League club West Brom. That proved to be an inspired appointment, as Di Matteo guided Chelsea to Champions League and FA Cup glory.
Manchester United has turned to the likes of Ryan Giggs and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. Liverpool even looked to a legend back in 2011 when Sir Kenny Dalglish returned to Anfield, more than a decade after his last managerial role.
There's still a long way to go in this story before Gerrard can be considered for the role at Anfield. But if Slot can't inspire a turnaround in results and fix the situation with Salah, his job may just become available.
And it wouldn't be a surprise to see Gerrard's name enter the frame, despite his time at Villa and inexperience at the highest level of management.
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