Julian Nagelsmann has opted to continue his relationship with the DFB, extending his contract until 2026. It’s not necessarily a hammer blow for Liverpool, though it does throw a spanner in the works for Bayern Munich and their ‘great’ (as described by Lionel Scaloni via FootballFanCast) candidate. Christian Falk shared the update in question on X (formerly Twitter), amid ongoing links with the Bavarian outfit. Breaking: Julian Nagelsmann will sign a new contract Til 2026 at DFB and will not be Coach of Bayern Munich @BILD_Sport @altobelli13 @YvonneGab — Christian Falk (@cfbayern) April 19, 2 ..read more

Paul Merson is backing Manchester City to win the Premier League title race. Only two point separate the incumbent champions from Arsenal (second) and Liverpool (third) at the top of the table. The 56-year-old is confident that the Sky Blues’ experience will win out over that of their rivals. “In terms of the Premier League title race, you have to fancy Pep Guardiola and Co now,” the former Gunners star wrote in his Sportskeeda column. “They are still in the FA Cup but have a big enough squad filled with experience to tackle the business end of the campaign.” The Sky Sports pundit went on ..read more

Niko Kovac appears far from being the frontrunner for the Liverpool manager job. That said, fresh claims that the Croatian’s agents ‘have spoken to Liverpool FC’ will do little to allay fans’ fears ahead of the summer. “Manager Niko Kovac was most recently released in Wolfsburg. Suddenly he is considered a candidate for Liverpool FC,” Christian Falk informed CaughtOffside in his Fact Files column. “He himself publicly downplays the interest. However, I learned that his agents were actually in England. It is also true that his agents have spoken to Liverpool FC. “The result: Kovac is not o ..read more

Christian Falk has said that Liverpool are ‘keeping an eye on’ one Bundesliga star who’s been touted as a potential future winner of the Ballon D’Or. Earlier this week, Fabrizio Romano cited Jamal Musiala as a player in whom the Reds have a strong interest, along with Manchester City and Chelsea. The Italian’s claims have now been corroborated by his colleague from Germany, who shared his latest information on the Bayern Munich talent in his Fact Files for Romano’s Daily Briefing. FOLLOW Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE Falk wrote: “Manchester City are seriously inter ..read more

Christian Falk has named one out-of-work manager who Liverpool are reportedly ‘monitoring’ as a possible candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp. In recent days, the Daily Mail dubbed Niko Kovac a possible contender for the Anfield job after his representatives apparently spoke with a few Premier League clubs during a meeting in London, although Neil Jones subsequently dismissed those links as an ‘agent-led story’. However, the reliable German reporter hasn’t completely ruled out the 52-year-old from taking charge of the Reds, even if he’s not at the top of the club’s list as things stand despite hi ..read more

Jamie Carragher has bitten back at accusations that Liverpool are ‘bottling it’ in the run-in to the season by comparing the Reds’ overall performance for the campaign to two clubs in particular. It was just over a month ago that Jurgen Klopp’s side were still in contention for four trophies this term, but subsequent exits from the FA Cup and Europa League, in addition to slipping behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race, threaten to see the German’s reign peter out to an anti-climax. However, in his latest column for The Telegraph, the 46-year-old insisted that his former club ..read more

Jurgen Klopp admitted that one Liverpool player who ‘set the tempo’ during the first half against Atalanta on Thursday night ultimately ran ‘out of gas’. The Reds bowed out of the Europa League after failing to overcome the 3-0 deficit from last week’s clash at Anfield, but it wasn’t for the want of trying from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was making his first start since 10 February after two months out through injury. Speaking after last night’s match, the manager conceded that his team were unable to keep up the pace they’d shown prior to half-time, with the vice-captain’s influence wan ..read more

Steve McManaman was unimpressed with a ‘lazy’ moment from one Liverpool player during the futile win over Atalanta in Bergamo on Thursday night. The Reds won 1-0 in Italy but never truly looked like salvaging a Europa League tie which was ultimately put beyond their reach in a costly 0-3 first leg defeat at Anfield a week ago. FOLLOW Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE Speaking on co-commentary for TNT Sports, the ex-LFC winger was annoyed at Cody Gakpo when, after being moved to the left wing in the second half, the 24-year-old tried to backheel a ball through two oppos ..read more

A worrying trend has emerged from Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over Atalanta in the Europa League. The Merseysiders secured a win in Bergamo – though it wasn’t enough to overturn a three-goal deficit suffered at Anfield – courtesy of Mo Salah’s first-half spot-kick. It was yet the fourth instance, as spotted by Joel Rabinowitz on X, of the Reds failing to score a goal from open play. Four consecutive games without scoring a goal from open play. Scary stuff. — Joel Rabinowitz (@joel_archie) April 18, 2024 FOLLOW Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE READ MORE: Why Klopp had t ..read more

Liverpool fans are coming to terms with the fact that our season is rapidly falling apart and Jurgen Klopp’s interaction with one of his players showed how it’s affecting them all. Cameras captured the moment the boss shared a hug with Alexis Mac Allister after the full-time whistle, with clear emotion being present. READ MORE: (Video) “The reality is…”: Van Dijk’s honest message to fans and teammates after Europa elimination Let’s hope that we can quickly turn these results around and soon be back to our winning best, something that will need to happen if we want to try and win the Premi ..read more