Jurgen Klopp's former assistant, Pep Lijnders, has parted ways with Red Bull Salzburg after a difficult few months in charge of the Austrian outfit. His assistant coach Vitor Matos, who he took with him when he left Anfield, has also left the club.

A joint statement from Salzburg CEO Stephan Reiter and managing director of sport Rouven Schroder read: "We began our announced analysis of an unfortunately unsatisfactory autumn season some time ago. It was clear that we were far from our own expectations and goals in far too many games.

"Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that our team needed a new impetus under new leadership, even though we were still hoping for a turnaround right up until the end. We would like to thank Pep for his work. He invested a lot of commitment and passion and also gave us important impulses for further development.

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"We are now working very intensively on the search for a coach and will announce it as soon as a decision has been made. It is clear that we want to start training with our new coach on January 3, 2025."

Salzburg won 3-0 against Austria Klagenfurt on Saturday in its final match before the winter break. It currently sits fifth in the Austrian Bundesliga, 10 points behind the leader, Sturm Graz, and has won just once in the Champions League, beating Arne Slot's old club, Feyenoord, by three goals to one.

Lijnders took Liverpool talent Stefan Bajcetic with him when he moved to Salzburg, signing the Spaniard on a season-long loan. He also signed Bobby Clark from the Reds on a permanent transfer worth around $13m (£10m/€12m). Clark scored his first goal for his new club at the weekend, it what has proven to be the final match with Lijnders at the helm.