61-year-old boss who 'massively' wanted Liverpool job makes Fulham appearance

While Liverpool bounced back to winning ways against Fulham to keep their title hopes alive, there was one onlooker at Craven Cottage who has got fans speculating.

The Reds earned a decisive 3-1 victory over the Cottagers thanks to goals from Ryan Gravenberch, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota against a spirited Fulham outfit. It saw them match Arsenal’s win over Wolves to ensure they remained joint-top of the league with the Gunners as both sides moved above Manchester City who had FA Cup action to attend to over the weekend.

Jurgen Klopp lauded his side’s second-half performance as ‘complete’ as his side came away from West London for a second time this season unbeaten after previously drawing in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg and it marks the final time the German boss will visit Fulham with his Liverpool side before his exit this summer. And with all the talk continuing about who his replacement could be, Jose Mourinho, of all people, was in attendance to watch Klopp’s side on Sunday which has sparked a frenzy over whether he could be eyeing up the soon-to-be vacant post at Anfield.

The 61-year-old departed Roma in January after a poor run of results but over the course of two-and-a-half-years he reached back-to-back finals in Europe, winning the Europa Conference League as well as reaching the Europa League final. Prior to that he was in charge of Tottenham and he is said to be considering his next move in management and waiting for the right move to present itself. Liverpool would certainly be a left-field choice but his move to Spurs was deemed unfathomable at the time and he spent two years at his second club in London.

Liverpool and Jose have previous - and we’re not just talking about his famous rivalries with Chelsea. In the latter stages of his career at Porto, he was eyed for the Liverpool job after Gerard Houllier but differing reports from both parties list contrasting reasons for the deal not going through. Ex-Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy even revealed on talkSPORT that ‘I know that for a fact – Mourinho wanted the Liverpool job massively.

Despite that, he has commended the Reds over the years, especially during his time as a pundit in between jobs across the past five years. Most notably at the 2019 UEFA Champions League final as he said “This is more beautiful than what we can say!” when describing the echoing rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at the Wando Metropolitano.

While it would be a sensational story, reports that the higher-ups at Liverpool are set to take a ‘brave not popular’ approach when it comes to their next appointment will certainly stir up speculation that falls in line with Jose heading to Anfield. However, there are more sensible targets to consider at the current time.