Xabi Alonso has refused to discuss ongoing speculation linking him with upcoming summer vacancies at former clubs Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

The 42-year-old has become one of Europe’s top-rated emerging coaches since taking over at Leverkusen towards the end of 2022. It is only natural for the likes of Liverpool and Bayern to take an interest in his services when both will soon be in need of a new manager.

“Maybe you have questions about my future. I have nothing new to say about that. I wanted to say that in advance. Right now, I’m the coach here, that’s for sure. For the future I have nothing new to say, we’ll see,” Alonso said as he addressed media in Germany for the first time since Bayern announced Thomas Tuchel will be leaving the club at the season’s conclusion.

While Liverpool’s priority is the appointment of a new sporting director following the departure of short-term hire Jorg Schmadtke at the end of January, Alonso features on a shortlist already drawn up by the Anfield hierarchy alongside the likes of Roberto De Zerbi and Ange Postecoglou.

According to reports, Bayern had their eye on Alonso, who represented the club at the very end of his playing career, even before deciding to pull the plug on Tuchel’s short reign in Bavaria.

Alonso would obviously be a popular choice with Liverpool fans. He won an unexpected Champions League title in his first season as a player there and was part of the side that ran Manchester United all the way in the 2008/09 Premier League title race. His son was even born in Liverpool.

But Alonso has obvious ties to Germany too. Notwithstanding his past with Bayern, moving to Munich from Leverkusen would arguably be less of an upheaval than heading back to England.

The immediate focus, as he pointed out, is the remainder of this season. Leverkusen have earned the cruel nickname ‘Neverkusen’ over the years given their ability to fall at the last hurdle, as evidenced in runner-up finishes in the Bundesliga on five occasions in the last 30 years without ever winning it.

The 2001/02 season was particularly painful in that respect, with an iconic Leverkusen generation in with a chance of a treble, only to finish second in the Bundesliga and lose both the DFB Pokal final and the Champions League final to end the campaign with nothing.

Alonso will be hoping to finally shed that tag, with a commanding eight-point lead with 12 games left in the current league table over Bayern, who have won every title since 2012.