Glen Johnson has suggested that Liverpool should consider Gareth Southgate as a replacement for Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp announced his departure from Liverpool at the end of the season, aiming to secure a treble by winning the Premier League title and Europa League.
While Xabi Alonso and Roberto De Zerbi have been linked with the Liverpool job, Johnson believes Southgate could be an ideal choice if he becomes available.
He told Betfred: “If he’s available in the summer, then you’ve got to look at all the options.
“He’s done a brilliant job with England, so there’s no reason why he can’t be successful with a club like Liverpool as he’d be dealing with a similar standard of players.
“You’d need to have the chat because you can’t just dismiss him if he’s available.”
Johnson expressed doubt about how Manchester United players would react to Southgate as their manager, contrasting with his success leading the England national team.
He referenced Southgate’s refusal to discuss potentially succeeding Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
He said: “I’m not sure because despite being a top bloke and great manager, I believe Gareth gets more respect from the players in the England squad because he’s English.
“Foreign players in Manchester United’s squad are initially not going to have that same level of respect for Gareth as the English players do.
“It would take a bit of time for him to win them over and if he can, then he’s more than capable of being successful.”
When pressed on whether Southgate could deliver success at Old Trafford, Johnson added: “There have been a number of good, successful managers that have gone into the job at Manchester United and have struggled, so it wouldn’t be guaranteed success for Gareth if he was to take the job.
“Manchester United are a huge club, with great support and on paper, they have a very good squad too.
“A top manager like Gareth could come in, get rid of a lot of the deadwood, provide that team with a good backbone and make Manchester United successful again.
“However, there’s been a lot of good managers that have taken that job in recent years and have failed.”
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