Fernando Torres has returned to Liverpool to shadow Jurgen Klopp for the day while the team were in training ahead of their game against Brighton on Sunday.
Klopp is leaving Anfield at the end of the season, which has sparked rampant speculation about his replacement – but it won’t be Xabi Alonso, after he reaffirmed his long-term commitment to Bayer Leverkusen.
Torres, who was a Liverpool player from 2007 until 2011, and currently managing the under-19s at Atletico Madrid, was at the club’s training ground on Friday to meet players like Mo Salah, and shadow the manager.
The 40-year-old was invited to oversee training ahead of Brighton, with the intention to give him first-hand management experience from Klopp and assistant manager Pep Lijnders before the German gaffer leaves the club.
Torres told the club’s X (formerly Twitter) page: ‘I’ve had the opportunity to see how everything works from the inside, which is great.
‘I’m a big fan of Jurgen and his staff and all around the AXA training facility, which is very different than when I was here.
‘So obviously the club grows a lot, and I have the chance to see why.
‘There are many reasons. It’s amazing to be here and to be able to meet with Jurgen and Pep and all the staff to learn and try to understand the Liverpool way.’
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is one of those who is being considered for the top job at Anfield next term, especially now that Alonso has withdrawn from the running.
Speaking at Friday’s press conference, Alonso said: ‘There has been a lot of speculation around my future, we have been busy and focused and I wanted the international break to reflect a bit better.
‘I had a very good meeting with the decision makers, and I decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen. I feel this is the right place to develop as a coach. I have to feel it, and right now I feel this is the right place… my job is not over here.’
Torres was previously backed to become a successful manager in his own right.
In 2022, former Atletico Madrid coach Armando de la Morena told AS: ‘A coach like Fernando, knowing his career a bit, as a player and always with the respect that he has acted, has the conditions to be a great coach.
‘I know it from the players too, who tell me wonders about him, how he transmits, how he gives them the concepts. So what I see in him is that if everything is going the right way, then we have a future coach for Spanish football and for Atletico and hopefully for the national team as well.
Last weekend, Torres joined some of Liverpool’s heroes of yesteryear for the Legends game against Ajax, in which he scored the Reds’ final goal in a 4-2 victory after a second half comeback against the Dutch side.
Torres earned a legendary reputation among Liverpool supporters for his efficiency in front of goal after joining in 2007, netting 81 times in all competitions for the Reds.
However, the Spaniard’s controversial move to Chelsea four years later caused issues with some fans, after he was quoted saying he had finally joined one of the world’s ‘top clubs’ upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
