Pep Lijnders lined up for exciting new role where he could even face Liverpool next season
It will be all change at Liverpool this summer and it is not only Jürgen Klopp who is set to depart. As well as the German, his assistants are expected to move on too, with Pep Lijnders set to move into management.
According to The Times, the Dutch coach, who spent six months in charge of NEC Nijmegen before returning to Anfield, could take over at Red Bull Salzburg this summer. Lijnders is being lined up by the Austrian Bundesliga side as a replacement for Gerhard Struber, who was fired last month.
Lijnders is searching for a role as a number one having excelled as Klopp's assistant. He has previously been considered by both Ajax (Netherlands) and Beşiktaş (Turkey).
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Vitor Matos, another Liverpool coach who is departing, is expected to become Lijnders' assistant. Salzburg is currently second in the Austrian Bundesliga table, behind Sturm Graz, but it could win an 11th league title in a row should results go its way at the weekend.
Lijnders has been at Liverpool since 2014 when he arrived from Portuguese side FC Porto to work as the Reds' U16s coach. He was then promoted to working with the first-team staff under Brendan Rodgers before being kept on when Klopp took over.
Liverpool.com says: While Ajax and Beşiktaş would be good roles for Lijnders and both are big clubs, Salzburg, with its similarities to Liverpool, makes a lot of sense. While he isn't ready to be Liverpool manager just yet, it could also be a pathway to that happening in the future.
If he were to do well with Salzburg and then move to Leipzig in the Bundesliga, it isn't too hard to see how a route back to Anfield could be forged. There is no guarantee of that, of course, but Lijnders is very highly thought of.
At Salzburg, he would get the chance to compete in the Champions League most seasons (or at least in the Europa League). He could even face Liverpool next year if the Austrian side can qualify.
