Simone Inzaghi has emerged as a candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, and is also thought to be on the radars of Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona, all of whom should be attracted to one particular quality of his.
Inzaghi’s Inter currently sit 12 points clear at the top of Serie A, further raising the stock of the 47-year-old manager, who led the Italian side to the Champions League final last season. He’s also won the Coppa Italia on three occasions, once with Lazio and twice with Inter, as well as five Supercoppas in his eight year spell as a senior coach.
An all the more impressive haul given he’s operated at a net profit at Inter, selling Achraf Hakimi, Romelu Lukaku and Andre Onana among others for over £300m, while only reinvesting half of that on new arrivals.
Frugality will be an attractive quality for interested parties given the need to stay within the bounds of FFP, and although Xabi Alonso is Liverpool’s clear top choice to replace Jurgen Klopp, while Sporting’s Ruben Amorim and Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi are also in the running, Tuttosport revealed on Wednesday that Inzaghi is also someone they’re considering.
Barcelona are also keen as they look to replace Xavi, along with Chelsea and Manchester United, who are keeping an eye on the market should their ambitious owners look to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag, both of whom have struggled this season.
The report claims Inzaghi is ‘liked because he has a fresh, new image and for his corporate attitude’, adding that unfortunately for Inter, they’re seen as a ‘springboard’ to something greater.
READ MORE: Who will replace Jurgen Klopp as next Liverpool manager?
Inzaghi was asked about the interest in him after Inter’s 4-0 win over Atalanta on Wednesday, and said (not entirely convincingly) that he’s focused on the Serie A side.
Inzaghi said: “I’m fine here, they know it and right now it doesn’t seem like the case or that it’s time to talk about these things. We remain focused on what happens on the pitch, there are less than 90 days left until the end of the season and we must maintain this concentration at all times.
“I’m happy where I’m working, I also had a great time at Lazio: I’ve always enjoyed watching my teams play, this is the greatest satisfaction. I’ve been lucky enough to achieve important goals, but in football you have to look ahead.”
Asked about the size of the clubs interested, he also said: ”It’s enormously pleasing, I don’t think we should just talk about Inzaghi but about Inter: we are doing an excellent job and we must continue to do so. Interests can be read and felt, they have always been there, when I coached Lazio in the first two years of Inter: let’s hope they are still there in the future, but I’m not interested in hearing them.
“I’m interested in working well at Inter, with my fans and with my staff: I have many people with me for more than ten years, which help me a lot in this job which gives so much satisfaction.”
