Xavi ‘pushing Barcelona to sign Liverpool target’ as Real Madrid sent blunt Jürgen Klopp message

It looked for a while like this was going to be a summer when the Liverpool job was just one of a number of high-profile vacancies across Europe. So far, though, Arne Slot replacing Jürgen Klopp is the only real change that we know about.

Barcelona head coach Xavi was leaving, but has now opted to stay put. Bayern Munich has tried a variety of candidates from Xabi Alonso to Ralf Rangnick and is still searching for a successor to Thomas Tuchel. And Manchester United, for the time being at least, still has Erik ten Hag.

It is no bad thing for Liverpool that it is the club that appears to have the most certainty of those who are going to change, even if the transition from Klopp to Slot will need time and patience. Real Madrid has delayed its change for another year by keeping Carlo Ancelotti while Pep Guardiola is under contract at Manchester City until 2025.

READ MORE: Luis Suárez already sent message to Barcelona as Darwin Núñez takes drastic Liverpool action

READ MORE: Man Utd ‘makes Erik ten Hag decision’ as Arsenal could get same transfer boost as Liverpool

What was looking like it could be a summer of huge change across Europe might not be quite as different as first thought, but there will still be plenty of storylines to keep an eye out for. Here is the Liverpool.com take on some of the biggest stories around European football today as the season’s end draws closer.

Xavi pushing Barcelona to sign Liverpool ‘target’

Liverpool, Aston Villa and Chelsea are all interested in signing Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams, according to TeamTalk. But Xavi is said to be pushing Barcelona to win the transfer race.

Williams has a release clause worth $54m (£43m/€50m) written into his contract and that will be attainable for most clubs. Barcelona seemingly has some wriggle room to spend and is also, via Sport, being linked with a move for Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez.

Liverpool.com says: If Liverpool wants a wide player this summer, it probably needs to be one that comes in with a really strong goalscoring record. Luis Díaz has been a high performer this season but his output could be higher. Williams has only scored four La Liga goals this season and has a rate of one in 10 in the Spanish top flight so far during his career.

Real Madrid sent Jürgen Klopp message

Former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel says that Real Madrid does not ‘deserve’ to have Jürgen Klopp as its manager. The Reds boss is leaving at the end of the season and will take a break from soccer, though he has not necessarily retired from the game.

“There are not many teams, in my opinion, who deserve Klopp,” Babel told Ladbrokes Fanzone. “He’s a coach who needs to be accepted for who he is. He’s someone who needs time to completely express is way of playing.

“While I would love to see him be successful with a team like Real Madrid, we know that Real Madrid are not a team who are going to give him two or three years to eventually show the football that he wants to play. So, I don’t think Real Madrid deserve him.

‌”Even a team like Bayern, you know, they don’t have a lot of patience for managers. There are rumors that he might coach the German national team… I don’t know about that. But I think he’ll definitely surprise a lot of people.”

Liverpool.com says: It will be interesting to see where Klopp goes next. The German national team appears to make a lot of sense but that would rely on Julian Nagelsmann leaving having only just extended his contract. That is definitely possible no matter what happens at the summer’s European Championship, not least because Klopp will be available.