The Athletic’s James Pearce has thrown Pepijn Lijnders’ name into the ring as somebody who could potentially replace Jurgen Klopp when the German decides to call time on his Anfield career. In a Q&A feature for the publication, the journalist mentioned the assistant manager as well as RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann.
According to Pearce, there was a concern amongst the owners that Klopp was planning on taking a sabbatical in 2022 and the fact he signed a contract extension in December, keeping him at Anfield until 2024 came as a huge boost to the club.
He also stated this about Lijnders: “Pep Lijnders is massively respected by the owners and is a popular figure throughout the club. He would certainly be part of the conversation when it comes to successors.”
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TIF Tactics – Could Lijnders be the man to continue Klopp’s dynasty?
The Dutchman is currently enjoying his second spell with the Merseyside giants having previously spent three and a half years with the club – firstly as the Under-16s coach before becoming the first-team development coach in 2015 (via Liverpoolfc.com).
In January 2018, Lijnders took up the position as the manager of NEC Nijmegen but he was only to last 135 days, winning just 11 of his 22 matches in charge (via Transfermarkt.co.uk).
After things didn’t work out in the Netherlands, the 37-year-old returned to the United Kingdom to join the first-team setup in the summer of 2018 and has enjoyed great success alongside Klopp since.
In terms of managerial experience, compared to Julian Nagelsmann, Lijnders can’t compete. The 32-year-old has taken charge of 245 matches to date – winning 128 of those, according to Transfermarkt.co.uk.
It’s clear that Pearce believes the club would consider Lijnders as a suitable replacement for Klopp after he moves on, but we suspect many fans will be concerned as to whether he’s capable of making that step up from the number two to the number one position.