Pep Lijnders has been appointed as the new head coach at Red Bull Salzburg ahead of his Liverpool exit this summer.

The Dutchman will leave the Reds at the end of the season - with his departure as assistant manager one of a number staff exits already confirmed when Jurgen Klopp announced his decision to step down as the club's manager back in January.

Lijnders had previously always insisted that he intended to return to management when Klopp’s reign as Reds boss ended, having briefly served as NEC Nijmegen’s manager in 2018 in what was his first lead position.

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As previously hinted by the 41-year-old, Vitor Matos will also join him at Salzburg as his assistant coach after four-and-a-half years as elite development coach at Liverpool. The pair have both signed three-year contracts with the Austrian club.

"I am very proud to become the new head coach of FC Red Bull Salzburg," Lijnders said. "This is a real privilege for me. After PSV Eindhoven, FC Porto and Liverpool FC, I am now moving to another exceptional club with a really good structure and a particular focus on youth development.

"I want to develop a mentality with the team that places a lot of emphasis on attacking style of play and where passion and hunger for success are the basis of everything.

"Together with my assistant coach Vitor Matos and the entire support team, we will do our best to help the club continue to grow in an ever-changing football world.

"My family has visited the city before and was overwhelmed by its beauty and the friendliness of the people. That was the last and important step for me in choosing FC Red Bull Salzburg."

Meanwhile, Salzburg sporting director Bernhard Seonbuchner said: “We have been able to get an ideal candidate for the coaching position at FC Red Bull Salzburg in Pepijn Lijnders.

“He is a real football expert and has been a huge influence on a very successful time for Liverpool with his qualities in developing players. The discussions with him were a great success, and there was a clear agreement on the way we want to play, what we are about as a club, and where we want to go together.

“We are really looking forward to our time with him, but we will do everything we can to take the current season to a successful end first.”

Lijnders initially joined Liverpool as an under-16s coach back in in 2014, having previously held youth coaching roles with PSV Eindhoven and FC Porto. He stepped up into the role of first-team development coach the following year, initially working with Brendan Rodgers prior to Klopp's own appointment in October 2015.

Departing to NEC in January 2018, Lijnders returned to the Liverpool coaching staff the following June as assistant manager to Klopp. During the past six years, he has been part of the coaching team that has won the Premier League, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup, two League Cups, and European Super Cup.