Manchester City are poised to bring in former Liverpool coach Pep Lijnders as one of Pep Guardiola’s new assistants amid their shake-up behind the scenes, according to reports.
Guardiola is eager to change his backroom staff to keep him motivated and to ensure he remains at the very top of his game. This has seen coaches Juanma Lillo and Inigo Dominguez leave Man City following the expiry of their contracts.
Assistant and set-piece coach Carlos Vicens has also departed the Etihad, becoming the new boss of Braga in Portugal.
According to various sources including The Times, Fabrizio Romano and The Athletic, Lijnders is ‘set to join City’ and help replace the likes of Lillo, Dominguez and Vicens.
Lijnders has agreed terms with City and will soon be announced as a new first-team coach.
The move will see the 42-year-old cross the City-Liverpool divide. He worked as Jurgen Klopp’s assistant at Liverpool between 2015 and 2024, either side of a six-month stint in charge of Dutch outfit NEC Nijmegen.
Lijnders is understood to have been the mastermind behind some of Liverpool’s tactics under Klopp, helping them win illustrious trophies such as the Champions League and Premier League.
Klopp rates the Dutch coach extremely highly and said of him in 2024: “The most influential guy in the last years at this club was definitely Pep Lijnders.
“The job he did is absolutely exceptional. The inspiration he is for me is absolutely exceptional.”
Lijnders followed Klopp out of Anfield last summer and was soon named as the new manager of Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg.
However, he was sacked in December as Salzburg had fallen down to fifth in the Austrian Bundesliga and 32nd out of 36 teams in the Champions League standings.
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Lijnders to come up against Liverpool next term
Lijnders has been a free agent ever since and he is now ready to link up with old rival Guardiola at City.
Lijnders will be looking to help City get the better of his beloved Liverpool next season as the two sides prepare to battle it out for the Premier League title.
Liverpool eased their way to Prem glory this season while City fell way behind, though Guardiola’s side are expected to come back with a vengeance following a huge summer.
Romano has also revealed that former City and Liverpool defender Kolo Toure could follow Lijnders’ lead and join Guardiola’s coaching staff.
Toure was most recently in charge of Wigan Athletic, though he was sacked in January 2023 after winning none of his nine matches in charge.
The MEN’s chief City correspondent, Simon Bajkowski, has revealed that U21 coaches Ben Wilkinson and Craig Mudd will also help Guardiola at this summer’s Club World Cup.
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