Midwinter sun beamed down on Kirkby as Liverpool’s players and staff arrived at their training base for a Friday just like any other. They had no idea that they were arriving for one of the most memorable days in the club’s 132-year history.

Everyone associated with Liverpool will always remember where they were when Jurgen Klopp’s departure was announced. Unlike most news stories in football which leak out weeks in advance from gossipy agents, this was the bombshell that shocked football.

It was the best-kept secret in sport and sent shockwaves through the game, the sort of news that had even non-football fans talking about it. Even Liverpool’s players were not made aware of the news until called to a team meeting around 10.15am on Friday.

There have already been two dates on Klopp’s lengthy farewell tour – the Reds could play 28 more matches this season if they get to all finals – and his departure has not yet sunk in for many fans. But for those in Liverpool’s inner sanctum, the succession plan is well under way.

Jurgen Klopp annouced his bombshell decision to leave the club at the end of the season a week ago

The Reds playing staff have gone about their business as usual ahead of the huge weekend clash against Arsenal

All of it lies in the hands of the president of owners Fenway Sports Group, Mike Gordon, who is running the recruitment process from Boston. Gordon, a private man who has never given an interview to British media, was informed of Klopp’s departure in November.

It was not rare for Klopp to call close ally Gordon but on this occasion, he asked the Milwaukee-born investor for a few minutes longer on the line and delivered the body blow that he was to leave the club – and nothing was to change his mind otherwise.

Klopp, who planned for a longer break after leaving Borussia Dortmund, was fatigued for a number of reasons and saw his Liverpool project drawing to a close. Last season’s dip in form was a factor which planted a seed of thought in the manager’s mind.

The global pandemic also hit Klopp hard, as it did with most humans. He was unable to attend the funeral of his mother Elisabeth in 2021 due to Covid guidelines and, due to the cramped seasons that followed, he could not enjoy the usual down-time away from football he so craves.

He has also recently become a grandfather and will look forward to more family time. And so it was during a planning meeting for next pre-season – Liverpool are likely to go to the United States – that Klopp mentally checked out and questioned if he had the energy to go again.

Assistant boss Pep Lijnders, who is also leaving the club along with Peter Krawietz and Vitor Matos, saw this season as ‘the Last Dance’ – a nod to the Chicago Bulls documentary – and joked with players that he would punch them in the head if they showed any signs of negativity.

Klopp, 56, privately laughed and joked that he should have got himself fired for the almighty pay-off and, though he did not want to tell fans so far in advance, he wanted the news to come out on his terms and it risked being leaked in the coming weeks.

All of the trusted confidants that were aware of Klopp’s exit kept the secret close but Liverpool would need to start contacting agents to replace the manager and his coaching team. Earlier in the week, murmurs in football circles arose about the club weighing up backroom coaches.

FSG president Mike Gordon (right) runs the recruitment process at Liverpool from Boston

Bayer Leverkusen boss and Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso has emerged as the fans’ favourite to replace Klopp

Last week’s run-of-the-mill press conference ahead of a clash with Norwich was brought forward a day and not held on a Friday for the first time this season, whereas women’s team boss Matt Beard’s briefing was rearranged to Saturday to block off the day to announce Klopp’s exit.

So what happens next? Gordon will lead the recruitment process from Boston, similar to 2015. Back then, Klopp and agent Marc Kosicke, who lingered at the back of the media room when his client was being grilled on his exit, were invited to Manhattan for a secret interview.

Klopp’s personality and the way he can own a room ultimately saw him edge Carlo Ancelotti out of the race for the job. Whereas the now-Real Madrid boss said he could return Liverpool to greatness with a few key signings, Klopp spoke of his excitement to work with the current crop.

A theme of the German’s era at Anfield has been to look for solutions within rather than to ask FSG to open the chequebook and that will be top of the job description again now. Xabi Alonso is seen as the frontrunner but the process will be thorough and data-led.

Liverpool have drawn up a shortlist of candidates they will scrutinise, also including Roberto De Zerbi and Sporting’s Ruben Amorim, plus plenty of others. That process has been part-led by a particle physicist, Will Spearman, the Harvard graduate now the Reds’ head of research.

Spearman was influential in identifying Wataru Endo for a summer signing. The Japan captain stood out in a number of data metrics and Liverpool believe the Stuttgart midfielder was a ‘top solution’ after missing out on Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.

When hiring Klopp, Liverpool noted how his Dortmund side often underperformed in terms of expected goals statistics – indicating they should have actually yielded better results. Funnily enough, the last manager to win the Bundesliga outside of Bayern Munich was Klopp.

The next man to end Bayern’s monopoly on the league, of course, could well be former midfielder Xabi Alonso, whose Bayer Leverkusen side are top of the table ahead of the side’s crunch meeting next weekend. Could he soon follow in Klopp’s footsteps?

Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim and Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi are also in the frame

West Ham are fearful that the Reds could poach their sporting director Tim Steidten, who brought Alonso to Leverkusen

Before that, Liverpool are likely to hire a new sporting director, with Jorg Schmadtke saying goodbye to the club this week. Former transfer chief Michael Edwards has rejected the chance to return in a different capacity but the search is clearly ongoing.

The Edwards-Klopp axis worked well because neither party was afraid to disagree. In 2017, Klopp wanted to sign German midfielder Julian Brandt but Edwards convinced him that another option was better. That man was Mohamed Salah, who has since scored 204 goals for the club.

West Ham are fearful Liverpool could poach their sporting director Tim Steidten, who brought Alonso to Leverkusen and also signed unwanted flops Kevin De Bruyne and Serge Gnabry at Werder Bremen. Bournemouth’s Richard Hughes is also a name that has been mentioned.

As for Klopp, reports in Germany have suggested the local FA will try to tempt him to manage the national team after Euro 2024. But the boss is finally looking forward to that sabbatical. As he said last week, noting his intensity: ‘I am who I am and where I am because of how I am.’