Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders is not on the shortlist to replace Reds head coach Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
Liverpool’s assistant manager, Pep Lijnders, is not in the running to take the head coach role at Anfield when Jurgen Klopp departs in the summer, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.
Klopp has announced that he will leave his post at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, with the Reds in search of a successor to the legendary boss.
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, who officially starts his role on 1st June, will work with Fenway Sports Group’s chief executive of football operations Michael Edwards to identify a worthy successor to Klopp. Lijnders has been the German head coach’s long-term assistant on Merseyside but will also leave Anfield this summer.
Lijnders ‘not in the running’ for Liverpool job
The assistant is currently on Ajax’s managerial shortlist
In January, Jurgen Klopp announced that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season. The 56-year-old was appointed as Reds boss in October 2015 and has won almost everything there is to win during his time in England.
Klopp’s most significant achievement is, arguably, ending the Reds’ 30-year wait to become English champions once again, having won the Premier League during the 2019/20 season. He has also guided the six-time European Cup winners to a Europa League and three Champions League finals, winning the latter once in 2019 following a 2-0 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid.
However, after almost nine years as boss at Liverpool, Klopp has confirmed that he will depart following the season’s conclusion, claiming that he is running out of energy to keep performing in the job to his highest standard. The former Borussia Dortmund head coach hopes that his last game will be a Europa League final on 22nd May at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Meanwhile, The Athletic’s David Ornstein has ruled out Lijnders succeeding Klopp ahead of the 2024/25 season. The 41-year-old is in the running to become the next Ajax boss when John van’t Schip leaves his current interim role at the Johan Cruyff Arena. The respected journalist said:
“His assistant coach Pep Ljinders is not in the running to succeed Klopp. He is on the shortlist to become the new Ajax manager.”
Liverpool set to miss out on Xabi Alonso appointment
The Spaniard is expected to remain at Bayer Leverkusen
On Thursday evening, The Times’ Paul Joyce confirmed that Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso is ‘unlikely’ to feature on the final managerial shortlist to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
The 42-year-old had been touted for the vacant Reds and Bayern Munich posts, but will remain with his current club, who he is on the verge of guiding to a maiden Bundesliga title.
Liverpool are set to cast their net further afield as they look for their next manager. According to reports, Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim ‘would consider’ taking up the role at Anfield.
The 39-year-old has established himself as one of Europe’s most promising young coaches, notably guiding Sporting to a first league title in 19 years during the 2020/21 season.
Amorim has also displayed his managerial qualities on English shores, when his side beat Arsenal on penalties in a Europa League last-16 penalty shootout last term.
