Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher hopes Jurgen Klopp can “go out with a bang” after the German manager announced he will leave the club at the end of the season.

The 56-year-old has admitted he is “running out of energy” having led the club to six major trophies since taking charge in October 2015.

Carragher, who made 737 appearances for the Reds, posted on X, formerly Twitter: “This news was always going to be a body blow to the club whenever it came.

“I just thought it would be another few years away. What a manager, what a man, let’s go out with a bang Jurgen!”

Former Liverpool midfielder Ray Houghton said Klopp’s Anfield achievements were “phenomenal”.

“There was no sign whatsoever that he was going to make the decision that he’s made and obviously, it’s absolutely huge. What he’s done for this club and his time being in charge, nothing short of phenomenal,” Houghton told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“To get them back winning the league, getting them to major finals, getting that pride back in the football club, the joy of playing for Liverpool. It’s been absolutely incredible and the football they’ve played has been a joy to watch. It’s going to be one hell of a pair of shoes to fill.”

Ange Postecoglou has praised Tottenham vice-captain Cristian Romero for stepping up in Son Heung-min’s absence.

Spurs are without current skipper Son due to his international commitments with South Korea and Romero is set to wear the armband again in Friday’s FA Cup tie with Manchester City.

Romero was captain for the 2-2 draw at Manchester United two weeks ago and Postecoglou talked up his growing leadership qualities.

He said: “There’s definitely a void there but with all these things there’s definitely opportunities. That’s where Romero has really stepped up.

“You just feel it around the place. He knows that Sonny’s not here and he knows what Sonny does on a daily basis.

“Sonny gets around everyone in the building and says, ‘how you going?’ and Cristian’s doing that now. I can see that. In training he’s a lot more vocal than he was in the past. That’s the beauty of it.

“There is a void because you’re missing one of your leaders, but for me, on the outside, you’re kind of waiting on, ‘is anyone going to step up here because we’re going to need someone to or do I need to interject myself into it?’ But he’s stepped up.

“There’s been others too, Vic (Guglielmo Vicario) in goal, he’s stepped up.”

Postecoglou watched his team endure a horrid November period where they were hit with a string of absentees.

Spurs were able to regroup during December and while they remain without Son, Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma due to the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations respectively, the Australian feels the adversity has accelerated the growth of his young group in his debut campaign in charge.

“There’s a really good feeling amongst the group at the moment over where they’re at,” Postecoglou added.

“They understand that because of what we’ve been through, ‘OK, somebody’s missing, man down, but somebody fills that void and we keep going until they come back’. I think it’s been good for the growth of the team.

“This year for me is about growth. You don’t want to orchestrate these scenarios where we get challenged and have players missing, but the fact that we’ve gone through it, I just think has accelerated our growth.

“We could have flown through this first half of the year and I’m sure all the questions to me would’ve been, ‘what happens when there’s a hiccup?’ and I wouldn’t have been able to answer that question.

“I’d bluff my way through it but I wouldn’t have been able to really answer it.

“But I already know, I’ve seen the resilience and part of that is how I’ve dealt with those absences.”

Jurgen Klopp has announced he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, a moment which will bring to an end another successful chapter in the club’s history.

Klopp arrived at Anfield late in 2015, tasked with bringing trophies back to the club.

With four still to play for in this campaign there is every chance he could add to those he has already won, which the PA news agency lists here.

2019/20 – Premier League

Perhaps the one which matters the most to Liverpool fans, Klopp returned the first league title in 30 years as his side finished 17 points clear of Manchester City. The sadness for the supporters was that, as it came during lockdown, no fans were present in the stadium to celebrate the success, which was confirmed when nearest rivals City lost at Chelsea. Klopp’s men won 32 of their 38 games that season.

2021/22 – FA Cup

Liverpool’s run to the final saw them beat Shrewsbury, Cardiff, Norwich and Nottingham Forest, before an all-the-more difficult semi-final assignment against Manchester City. Two goals from Sadio Mane secured a somewhat unexpected win, before beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties in the final.

2021-22 – League Cup

Beating Chelsea on penalties in the FA Cup final may have felt familiar to Klopp for some three months earlier his side had done the same thing to beat the same opposition and win the League Cup. This time it was a lengthier shoot-out, going all the way to the goalkeepers, with Liverpool’s regular reserve, Caoimhin Kelleher, scoring the decisive penalty for an 11-10 success.

2022 – Community Shield

Liverpool’s FA Cup success meant another showdown with Manchester City, this time in the Community Shield, a match played at Leicester due to the Women’s Euro 2022 final at Wembley. Big-money summer signing Darwin Nunez capped a 3-1 victory and another piece of silverware for Klopp, whose men ran out 3-1 winners.

2019 – Champions League

This one ranks alongside the 2020 Premier League as Klopp’s crowing glory; a sixth European title for Liverpool coming thanks to a 2-0 win over Tottenham in an all-English final played in Madrid. Liverpool booked their place in the final with an improbable come-from-behind semi-final win over Lionel Messi’s all-conquering Barcelona team, while on the night goals from Mo Salah and Divock Origi earned them the Champions League title. The Reds enjoyed great success and consistency in the competition under Klopp too, being losing finalists in 2018 and 2022, while they were also runners-up in the 2016 Europa League.

2019 – UEFA Super Cup

Another final, another penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea, this one coming in Istanbul after a 2-2 draw following extra time between the winners of the Champions and Europa Leagues. Mane scored a brace in the match, before Tammy Abraham’s missed penalty gave Liverpool the title.

2019 – Club World Cup

Roberto Firmino ensured Klopp was able to end 2019 with three non-domestic trophies, with the Club World Cup going alongside the Super Cup and Champions League. The Brazilian scored an injury-time winner in a 2-1 semi-final win over Monterrey in Qatar, before his extra-time winner saw off Flamengo to win the final 1-0.

Jurgen Klopp will stand down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the German’s career at Anfield in pictures over the years.

Jurgen Klopp will stand down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season, the German has announced.

The 56-year-old has informed the club’s ownership of his decision to stand down, having taken charge at Liverpool in 2015.

Klopp has won six trophies with the Reds, including the Premier League title in 2020 and the Champions League trophy the year before.

Former Northern Ireland goalkeeper Michael McGovern is determined to become Livingston’s number one as he bids to banish the “frustration” of making just one appearance in the last three years.

The 39-year-old joined the bottom-of-the-table Lions on loan from cinch Premiership rivals Hearts last week to provide competition and cover for Shamal George after Jack Hamilton suffered an injury that could keep him out until March.

McGovern – who won 32 caps for his country and featured at Euro 2016 – has not played since being given a one-off run-out for Norwich in an FA Cup tie at Wolves in February 2022, but he is adamant he is not resigned to being a back-up keeper for what remains of his career.

“I’ve got some stiff competition with the other goalkeepers but I’ve come here to try and get in the team and play,” he said.

“At Hearts, I wasn’t playing and recently I haven’t even been on the bench because Craig Gordon’s back fit so this is a better opportunity for me here.

“It’s been difficult. At Norwich, I was going in every day trying to get in the team, same at Hearts. I wasn’t just happy to pick up my wages, I wanted to contribute.

“But it’s hard sometimes as a goalkeeper because only one can play. In my last season at Norwich I was up against Angus Gunn, a Scotland international, and Tim Krul, a Holland international.

“And then I went to Hearts and I was up against Craig and Zander Clark, two Scotland internationals, so it’s been tough. It’s been frustrating not to play because I’m desperate to play and contribute to a team and get that feeling back on a Saturday so that’s my aim here.”

Asked if he still feels sharp enough to re-establish himself as first-choice goalkeeper, McGovern – who will be in the squad for Saturday’s cinch Premiership match at home to Dundee – said: “Most definitely. People don’t see it because I’ve not played much but in training I feel really sharp.

“At Norwich, I was sharp last season, coming up against top international players (in training) and making saves. I feel like you’ve got a personal responsibility to look after yourself when you’re not playing.

“The games I have played over recent years, I’ve kind of come from nowhere to go straight into the team and I’ve always produced when needed. That’s because I’m looking after myself every day, I feel like fitness-wise I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in.”

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is confident Kieran Trippier will stay with the club after they resisted Bayern Munich’s attempts to prise him away.

The 33-year-old England full-back was the subject of three separate offers from the Bundesliga champions earlier this week, all of which were rejected by the Magpies.

Howe, who has also seen strikers Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron linked with moves away from Tyneside before next Thursday’s transfer deadline, insisted Trippier – the first man signed by the club’s new owners following their takeover in October 2021 – never wanted to leave.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round trip to Fulham, he said: “We obviously hope he’ll stay – and I’m very confident he will – and be part of our long-term future, but I have to make it clear that he’s never asked to leave or even questioned his future here. He’s always been fully committed.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations in the last week and it’s always been about Newcastle, and I think it was very important that I made that clear and got that out there to everybody, that his commitment to Newcastle shouldn’t be questioned.”

Bayern said they had ended their pursuit on Wednesday evening after being given no encouragement, and asked if he considered the matter over, Howe added: “His situation is finished as far as everyone is concerned, Kieran, myself.

“I’ve just been in football long enough to never ever say 100 per cent because I don’t want to look stupid, but Kieran is 100 per cent committed and we definitely want to keep him.”

Wilson has been linked with a series of clubs this week after chief executive Darren Eales admitted the club would have to trade players in future windows in order to comply with spending restrictions.

But Howe said: “In every conversation that I’ve had with Callum – very similar to Kieran – he’s 100 per cent committed to Newcastle. No part of him is looking elsewhere.

“He wants to come back and score goals, he’s got big ambitions for the second half of the season and we want to keep him here.

“Obviously some things are out of my control and of course the club is acting within the long-term interests of the club and has to, and I understand that and am fully supportive of it, so let’s see what happens.”

Liverpool loanee Adam Lewis has been flooded with messages to send Manchester United out of the FA Cup at Newport and says he has been in contact with “good mate” Mason Mount about it.

Left-back Lewis is in his second temporary spell at League Two Newport and will be thrust into the spotlight on Sunday when United make their first trip to Rodney Parade for a fourth round tie.

Ever since Newport eased past Eastleigh in their third-round replay, Lewis says his phone has not stopped pinging with messages from his native Merseyside insisting Liverpool’s bitter rivals are dumped out of the cup.

“I’ve had tons of messages this week saying ‘Get stuck into them’ and make sure you win,” said the 24-year-old, who has had previous loan spells at Livingston, Plymouth and Amiens in France.

“I’m just waiting for one off the boss (Jurgen Klopp) now, he might drop me one hopefully before Sunday.

“I’ve played with (United midfielder) Mason Mount a lot at international level with England, from the under-16s through to the under-19s.

“He’s a good mate of mine and I spoke to him the other day to see if he was playing. I was trying to get some inside information, but he wasn’t giving me any.”

Lewis grew up in Walton close to Liverpool’s home Anfield and chose to join his boyhood heroes over neighbours Everton at the age of six.

He played in the same Croxteth Park Sunday League team and went to the same Rainhill High School as Trent Alexander-Arnold – “I always knew he was going to be a player, being captain of the Under-18s when he was about 15 or 16 says it all” – and made his way through the various youth groups at Anfield.

Lewis is certainty no stranger to Liverpool-United games and the intensity the fixture brings.

He said: “It was always good to beat them because even at youth level that rivalry is always there.

“I remember when Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher were playing for Liverpool and the tackles they were throwing in.

“It just works its way down from the first team – and you feel you want to be like that.

“To play against them professionally when it matters is more important. United are one of the biggest teams in the world, even though I hate to say that, but you’ve got to believe you can win.

“It’s the FA Cup for a reason and there’s always upsets. Look at how far Grimsby got last year.”

Whatever happens at Rodney Parade, Lewis is hoping to make one trip to Wembley this season after Liverpool reached next month’s Carabao Cup final.

“I was part of pre-season and there with the team when we got beat on penalties in the Community Shield by Manchester City (in 2019),” said Lewis.

“I haven’t been to a game for some while now because I’ve been down in Newport. But it would be great to get there and see us win another trophy.”

Aston Villa’s Leander Dendoncker has joined Napoli on loan for the rest of the season.

The midfielder moves to the defending Serie A champions as they struggle to retain their title, sitting ninth and 21 points off leaders Juventus.

He has made 15 appearances for Villa this season, scoring once, having joined from Wolves in 2022.

Aston Villa’s Leander Dendoncker has joined Napoli on loan for the rest of the season.

The midfielder moves to the defending Serie A champions as they struggle to retain their title, sitting ninth and 21 points off leaders Juventus.

He has made 15 appearances for Villa this season, scoring once, having joined from Wolves in 2022.

Kalvin Phillips has completed his loan move from Manchester City to West Ham, the clubs have announced.

The England midfielder will spend the rest of the season at the London Stadium.

The 28-year-old has been frustrated by a lack of game time at City since joining the club from Leeds in the summer of 2022.

Phillips told the Hammers’ website: “I’m really pleased to be here. There’s always been a lot of speculation about me moving to West Ham, so I’m really excited to get going now.

“There’s so much to look forward to in the second half of the season for the club and I can’t wait to be part of it.

“There’s an unbelievable group here and if I can come in and add the quality that I know I’m capable of, I’m sure we can give the West Ham fans plenty to be excited about between now and the end of the season.”

It had been reported the deal could include an option for West Ham to buy the player in the summer but it is understood that was not included in the final agreement.

Former Arsenal defender Gavin Hoyte says leading non-league Maidstone into a historic FA Cup fourth-round tie at Ipswich will be among the greatest moments of his career.

The National League South club – the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition – have reached this stage for the first time since they were reformed in 1992.

Stones captain Hoyte made four first-team appearances for the Gunners under Arsene Wenger in 2008, including one Premier League outing, while his international career with Trinidad and Tobago saw him line up against an Argentina side containing Lionel Messi.

“This is completely different, we’ve had six games just before this (to reach this stage), so it all builds up,” said the 33-year-old, who joined Maidstone from Dagenham in 2019.

“I get to lead the team out – hopefully I’m playing!

“It’s definitely up there, the biggest thing in my career. I’m coming near the end of it now so I might not get this opportunity again.

“These games are easy to get up for. You’ve just got to make sure everyone is sticking to the game plan and not going off script.

“Sometimes with a big occasion you might want to do something extra but it’s very important we stick to the script.”

Following three FA Cup qualifying fixtures, Maidstone overcame Chesham in round one before upsetting Sky Bet League Two club Barrow and then League One side Stevenage.

The Kent club’s reward is Saturday lunchtime’s televised tie against the Tractor Boys, who sit second in the Championship, with just under 4,500 away fans due to make the trip to Portman Road.

Stones midfielder Sam Corne scored in the two previous rounds and is once again relishing underdog status.

“This is something you always dream of, to play against a top, top side,” said Corne.

“When we played the lower league sides, sometimes they’re the tougher opponents and then when we flipped it to Barrow and Stevenage, we’re the underdog and we still are now and we thrive off that.

“We’ve got nothing to lose. As long as we give a good account of ourselves and stick to the game plan, anything can possibly happen.”

Manager George Elokobi took charge of Maidstone on a permanent basis in March 2023 and has guided the club to fourth place in the sixth tier, in addition to a memorable cup run.

The 37-year-old former Wolves defender will be proud of his squad regardless of the outcome in Suffolk.

“The players, what they’ve done is magical, the magnitude of that result (against Stevenage) has put this community on the map in the eyes of the world,” said Elokobi.

“We would be foolish to change how we have done things in the past just because it’s Ipswich.

“We’re showing them every bit of respect and we know if we’re not on our absolute best on the day then it might be disastrous.

“But even if it is disastrous, we’re going to be proud of our group of players.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp joked his close friend David Wagner asked him to make major changes for Norwich’s visit to Anfield in the FA Cup.

Klopp and Wagner have known each other more than 25 years – Wagner was best man at his wedding – after being team-mates at Mainz but more recently have found themselves on opposite sides of the technical area.

Wagner was manager for Huddersfield’s brief stay in the Premier League but lost all three matches against Liverpool.

Now he brings the Canaries to Anfield for a fourth-round tie on Sunday looking for a favour he knows he will not get from his long-time friend.

“We had already conversations about it. He asked me for massive rotation. I told him that doesn’t help, obviously,” said Klopp of Wagner’s request to face a weakened team.

“It’s cool to have the game. When he worked at Huddersfield, he watched a lot of games here in the stadium, when they didn’t play he was here, and now he’s back.

“We didn’t see each other for a long time, the next time probably would have been in the summer, so now it’s good to catch up and to lock horns again.”

Wagner has a 40 per cent win ratio since taking over at Carrow Road last January but, after a sticky patch between September and November when his side won just twice, he has got them back in form.

Wednesday’s defeat to fellow Championship promotion-chasers Leeds was only their fourth loss in 16 matches.

“(He did a) really good job but a really difficult job. I think the start of the season was really good and then they lose more or less their offensive department and that’s when they struggled a bit,” said Klopp.

“Now they are in touching distance of the play-off spots and they obviously have big games coming up.

“The Championship season itself is already pretty intense but if you have a longer FA Cup run in it, it’s obviously very similar to a very successful Premier League season with international football or something like that, because of the amount of teams in the league and the amount of games you have.

“I follow it as much as I can because I’m just interested in everything he is doing.”

What the papers say

Newcastle could look to sell striker Callum Wilson, who has scored seven goals for the Magpies in the Premier League this season, for just £18million before the January transfer window closes, the Standard reports. Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal have been alerted to the potential sale of the 31-year-old.

The Mirror says United manager Erik ten Hag is interested in Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite and Ajax striker Brian Brobbey but is no longer in control of transfers.

Wolves have hit a hurdle in their pursuit of Chelsea striker Armando Broja as they try to come in line with Premier League spending rules, according to the Daily Mail.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Morgan Rogers: The Middlesbrough forward is ready to join Aston Villa despite his club rejecting two bids for the move, the Daily Mail reports.

Daniel Munoz: Crystal Palace are reportedly close to signing the 27-year-old Colombian right-back from Belgian team Genk, according to the South London Press.

NewCo CEO Nikki Doucet says her organisation is exploring “all possible options” in negotiating a new broadcast deal for the Women’s Super League and Championship as the top two tiers of English women’s football prepare to operate under an independent entity.

From next season, the leagues will be run under club-owned structure NewCo, with the FA also having what the organisation’s chief revealed will be a “special” share similar to its agreement with the Premier League.

An independent review of the women’s game led by former England international Karen Carney, recommended women’s football establish its own dedicated broadcast slot, suggesting the “obvious gap” would be 3pm on Saturday, which would require an exemption from or amendment to the historic blackout restrictions.

Asked about the likelihood of that happening, Doucet, speaking at Wembley Stadium, said: “I think the barrier is Article 48 (of the UEFA statutes), which encompasses all of football, and that’s how everything is governed in this market at the moment. We’re exploring.

“The Karen Carney review said women’s football needs to figure out its own point of view. So we’re exploring what that looks like. We’re trying to explore every possible opportunity and figure out what the market’s willing to do. We’re looking at every possibility and trying to understand that we’re part of a whole football eco-system.”

In 2021, the FA brokered a three-year deal with Sky and the BBC understood to be worth £24million but the women’s game has since experienced exponential audience and commercial growth, particularly following England’s Euro 2022 victory.

Doucet, appointed to lead NewCo in November after serving as a consultant on the transition, was previously general manager of Nike Women UK & Ireland and also worked with Citigroup Global Markets.

The Canadian revealed her team are balancing “reach and revenue” as they negotiate a new agreement, explaining: “I think, more than anything, it should just be as easy as possible for fans to be able to watch the league or the team or the player they want to. How we can do that is what we’re exploring.”

There were calls from some, including Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, to consider a closed league but Doucet confirmed NewCo would remain committed to a promotion-and-relegation structure, while the Continental Tyres League Cup will also remain next season.

Doucet could not provide details about the organisation’s governance structure or board make-up but believes the takeover will be transformational for the women’s game.

While Carney has suggested women’s football has the potential to become a £1 billion industry, Doucet said she doesn’t want to “put numbers out there”, wondering aloud why, with the right foundations and strategies in place, “couldn’t it be bigger?”

She added: “We’re kind of going from, and I don’t mean this disrespectfully because we would not be here without the FA, being within a governing body to a stand-alone, revenue-generating for profit, independent entity with a 100% dedicated professional management team. They wake up every day think about this project, this fan-base, these clubs and how we are going to grow this.

“I fundamentally see this as a start-up with 100 years of men’s football history. There are obviously challenges but also opportunities.

“When you look at the stats of the growth of the audience, the growth of our social media, whatever growth metric you look at, if you look at that in isolation without the judgement or direct comparison to men’s football, you look at those stats and you’d be like…’this is a high-growth tech start-up’.

“Women’s sport, however long you go back, has been underfunded. It’s been treated like a charity and expected charity returns. Now you’re starting to see professional management coming in with real investment and strategies against it, you’re starting to see examples around the world where it’s a viable thing.”