Report: 39-year-old who could replace Klopp wants one player at Liverpool

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Speculation is mounting that Liverpool are interested in signing Vitinha this summer.

The 22-year-old has been a dynamic figure in Porto’s midfield this season.

And Record in Portugal reported on Saturday that Liverpool were among the clubs interested in the player.

Obviously Jurgen Klopp, the Reds manager, and director of football Michael Edwards have the most influence with regards to who the Anfield outfit sign and sell.

However, another figure might be behind the Vitinha interest.

After the Record report, O Jogo [print edition 26/03, page 10] reported that Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders is ‘keeping a close eye’ on the midfielder.

It adds that the young Portuguese talent has a release clause of around £33 million, easily within Liverpool’s budget.

Successor?

Lijnders has been touted as a potential Klopp replacement.

According to James Pearce of The Athletic, Liverpool could hire the Dutchman when Klopp leaves the club in 2024, which is well known to be the year when the German steps aside.

And it’s plausible that if Lijnders really is the one pulling the strings behind the Vitinha interest, that he’s preparing himself for life as a manager.

It isn’t very common for assistant managers to be the ones driving interest in transfer targets.

And if the Vitinha speculation winds up being genuine, well it’ll certainly be interesting to see if Lijnders really is being groomed for the Liverpool job long term.