Gian Piero Gasperini could emerge as a surprise contender for the Liverpool manager's job following the Reds' exit from the Europa League.
Gasperini led his Atalanta side to a 3-1 win on aggregate over Jurgen Klopp's men in the quarter-finals of the competition. At the bedrock of the Serie A side's progress was a stunning 3-0 win away at Anfield in the first leg.
The Italian has been in charge of La Dea since 2016 and immediately led them to their highest-ever finishing position. Since then, they have secured three third-placed finishes and been a regular feature in European competition.
Gasperini's work has largely gone unnoticed by the very top teams, but such a dominant win over the Premier League title chasers has caught the eye. And with Klopp leaving his post at the end of the season, he could be the perfect fit for Liverpool's next boss.
The search is being led by Michael Edwards, the newly-appointed Chief Executive of Football at Anfield. Edwards has so far been focused on building a recruitment team in his image, bringing in Richard Hughes from Bournemouth as sporting director.
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Edwards has been tempted back to Liverpool with the promise that he will have total control in the transfer market, having ended his first spell in 2022 as Klopp increased his power over recruitment.
In that sense, Gasperini would be the perfect candidate, with the Italian focusing on coaching. According to Atalanta's former Head of Football Lee Congerton, the veteran boss allows the recruitment staff to have full power.
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Michael Edwards is leading the search for the Reds' next boss having assumed total control of recruitment (LIVERPOOL FC)“[Gian Piero] Gasperini is not involved in any of the players,” Congerton told the Daily Telegraph. “You ask him for an opinion and all he says is sell whoever you want but make sure the ones you bring in are better than the ones you sold. It’s simple.
“Antonio Percassi, the owner, he was a professional player. Then you have Stephen Pagliuca and his American guys. They are business people, but they are sports people. They want to win.”
That structure would appear to be one that Liverpool are keen to replicate. And it appears that Gasperini would welcome an approach, having addressed the links with the Liverpool job before the second leg.
"Of course I am happy with links to Liverpool job to replace Klopp but my focus is on the game. We can't be distracted by this kind of links or stories, we have to focus on the upcoming games," he said.
"They have their own identity, a very precise one. I expect the best Liverpool possible, with a team that will come here to play for all their chances, we will have to play a great match to get a result."
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