Shaun Wright-Phillips has been discussing Manchester City's appointment of former Liverpool coach Pep Lijnders
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Pep Guardiola has freshened up his Manchester City playing and coaching staff after losing the Premier League title to Liverpool
Pep Guardiola has freshened up his Manchester City playing and coaching staff after losing the Premier League title to Liverpool
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
If Liverpool mean business, then so do Manchester City. The new Premier League champions will soon have splashed out the best part of £185m on summer signings.
The £29m Jeremie Frimpong, the £116m Florian Wirtz and the £40m Milos Kerkez will significantly enhance a Liverpool squad that proved the best in the English top-flight last season.
So good were the Reds that they finished 13 points clear of outgoing champions Man City, who went trophyless for the first time in eight years following their defeat in the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.
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But Pep Guardiola's side have responded in the transfer market, spending around £112m on the £31.8m Rayan Ait-Nouri, the £34m Rayan Cherki, and the £46.3m Tijjani Reijnders.
City boss Guardiola has also freshened up his coaching staff.
James French has arrived at the Etihad Stadium as set-piece coach after leaving Liverpool, where he was working as first-team opposition analyst.
And, more surprisingly, Pep Lijnders has been appointed as City's new assistant coach. The 42-year-old, of course, is best known for his work alongside Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
Lijnders left Liverpool to take over Red Bull Salzburg after Klopp announced his decision to depart the club at the end of the 2023-24 campaign and after many seasons battling it out against Guardiola in both the Bundesliga and the Premier League.
But the Dutchman's spell in charge of the Austrian outfit lasted just six months and he had been out of work until his shock move to City was confirmed last week.
Lijnders has made his love for Liverpool clear but from next season on he will be part of the City team that will be trying to wrestle back the championship from Arne Slot's men.
And in an exclusive interview with Prime Casino, Shaun Wright-Phillips has been discussing an appointment that surprised many.
The former Man City favourite said when asked whether it is an admission that Guardiola needs help with his tactics: "I don’t think it’s an admission of weakness or anything.
"I think it’s not possible to say that Pep Guardiola needs help exactly. I think Pep Lijnders is there because Guardiola is a manager who always wants to bring new ideas in to improve his side.
"Guardiola’s supposedly coming off the back of a bad season, but he got to a cup final, finished third, just behind Arsenal. I think City still set the standards that other teams try to match, and they’ve still been showing the world what they’re capable of.
"They’re in the Champions League next season and they will pick up and go again
"I can see why he’s brought him in. If you look at Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, there are times where City could use that ability to hit sides in transition, and be more direct.
"I don’t think it’s going to be a complete overhaul or just playing like Klopp did - there’s a reason City play like they do right now. It's more about fresh ideas for everybody, because the Premier League in general has become a harder league.
"From say fourth to 10th position, those teams were beating everyone above and around them, only Liverpool were regularly dominating. Three or four years ago even, it wasn’t so cut-throat."
The Reds enjoyed a dream debut campaign under Klopp's replacement Slot, winning the title for a record-equalling 20th time.
But Wright-Phillips does not believe it will be so straightforward in 2025-26 - for Liverpool or any of the teams at the top.
He said: "I don’t think that it’s definitely going to be harder for Arne Slot because now this is his own team, and that he’s not borrowing so much from Jurgen Klopp. I think next season’s going to be tough for another reason.
"Next year, everything is just going to be so much harder for Liverpool - but everyone else too. Manchester City are going to be desperate to avoid making the same mistakes they did last season, they will not be complacent.
"Arsenal are going to give it that extra push after coming close three seasons in a row, and then you’ve got the other sides who’ll all be stepping it up.
"If Mo Salah does what he did last season, then it’ll be almost impossible to stop him and Liverpool, because he was scoring from almost every chance that dropped in front of him.
"He only needs a glimmer of a chance to change the game, just as he did against Everton. If he’s at his best, then Liverpool are going to be hard to stop."
The Reds will get their Premier League campaign under way at home to Bournemouth on Friday, August 15.