Richard Keys believes that Liverpool should be doing everything in their power to convince Jurgen Klopp to stay at Anfield beyond the end of this season. The 56-year-old recently announced that he will be stepping down from his role in the summer, which will bring an end to his nine-year spell in charge of the Reds.
A host of big names have been linked with the upcoming managerial vacancy at Anfield, with the likes of Xabi Alonso and Roberto De Zerbi among the early frontrunners. Keys, however, believes that Klopp is too important to be allowed to leave and wants Liverpool to offer him whatever it will take to convince him to stay.
Speaking on beIN Sports, Keys said: “You know who I would go after? I would sit Jurgen Klopp down and say: ‘What do you want? Because you’re not leaving’.
“Tell us how we accommodate what it is that makes this job possible for you to continue in it and we will do that. If it means you’ve got to take Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off some weeks, that’s fine. If you want to live in Majorca in your big new house that you’re building, that’s also fine.
“You are too big a character in and around this club for us to allow you to leave, and that’s not happening, so you tell us what we can do going forward to make sure you are happy in this job.”
It seems unlikely that Klopp would be prepared to extend his stay at Liverpool, regardless of what the Reds may be willing to offer him if they decide to follow Keys’ advice. The German boss has already explained that he is planning to take at least a year’s sabbatical when he leaves Anfield in order to try and live a ‘normal life’.
“I cannot just sit around, I will find something else maybe to do, but I will not manage a club or a country at least for a year, that’s not possible, I cannot do that and I don’t want to,” said Klopp in a lengthy interview following the announcement of his decision to step down.
“That’s all. It’s such a strange situation because I have to explain that I don’t have energy anymore, but now I’m sitting here and I have energy and I’m buzzing for everything that’s happening here. But because of the relationship we have, I have to think about this. Because nobody will sack me, I have to make this decision by myself.”
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