Liverpool have identified the manager they want to take over at the club in the summer.

The Reds are set to lose their German head coach Jurgen Klopp, who is taking a sabbatical from the sport.

Now Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Ruben Amorim of Sporting CP is the prime target to replace him.

Amorim has jumped to the head of the queue to get the job after Xabi Alonso dropped out of the running.

Alonso was the fan favorite and club's first choice, but he has decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.

Romano said: “Ruben Amorim is the favoured candidate for Liverpool for sure, but we still have to wait and see because Liverpool are discussing this possibility internally, while they have also made contacts with people close to Amorim.

“This is significant because it's not something they did with Roberto de Zerbi or some of the other names we've seen in the media in recent weeks.

“Amorim remains a strong candidate – they are well informed on his contract situation and there will be more discussions over him becoming the new Liverpool manager."