Former Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders agrees deal to to join Pep Guardiola's Manchester City staff
Former Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders has agreed a deal to join Pep Guardiola's staff at Manchester City.
The 42-year-old spent nine-and-a-half years at Anfield across two spells.
The Athletic reported on May 27 that Guardiola had reshuffled his coaching staff, with assistants Juanma Lillo, Carlos Vicens, and Inigo Dominguez all leaving the club. The City manager is driving a push for new voices and ideas to challenge him and help him continue to innovate.
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Lijnders' most recent position was head coach at Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg, who he joined after leaving Liverpool alongside Jurgen Klopp last summer. Teams across Europe, including Porto, Besiktas and Ajax, previously held an interest in Lijnders.
He only spent seven months in the role and was sacked in December, with Salzburg 10 points behind leaders Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga.
The Athletic also reported earlier this month that he was set to hold talks with Norwich City over their vacant head coach position, having sacked Johannes Hoff Thorup in April.
Lijnders joined Liverpool in 2014 as an under-16s coach and was promoted to the first team staff by Brendan Rodgers the following year. Klopp took over in October 2015 and Lijnders retained his position.
In 2018, Lijnders was given his first head coaching position as he took charge of Dutch second-tier side NEC Nijmegen, but parted ways with the club at the end of the season and returned to Liverpool in the summer as a first-team assistant.
Working under Klopp, the Dutchman helped Liverpool win the Premier League and the Champions League, as well as the FA Cup and Carabao Cup (twice).
(Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)
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