Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders has admitted that his plan is to become a manager again – but dodged questions about replacing Jurgen Klopp.
Lijnders was actually part of Brendan Rodgers’ coaching staff at Liverpool and isn’t a Klopp appointment.
Klopp has ultimately come to love Lijnders though.
Lijnders went off to become a manager with NEC Nijmegen in 2018, but lasted just a matter of months in the job.
Klopp welcomed Lijnders back to Liverpool with open arms, making him assistant manager after Zeljko Buvac’s exit.
38-year-old Lijnders is highly-regarded at Liverpool and usually takes press conferences for Klopp ahead of cup games.
That is the case this week too, as Lijnders faced the media ahead of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup tie with Leicester City tonight.
Lijnders was asked about his dreams for the future. Many think that it will be Lijnders – not Steven Gerrard – who ends up replacing Klopp.
The Athletic claim that owners FSG love Lijnders and he is very much in the mix to replace Klopp in 2024.
Given Lijnders’ age, he has plenty of time to become a manager, but he has told The Mirror that the plan is for him to become a boss again one day.
When pressed for answers about replacing Klopp, Lijnders was a little more coy – but having been branded ‘sensational’ by Klopp, he could be the man.
“That’s the plan, it is the plan yeah,” said Lijnders. “You asked management, and Jurgen knows this. But this is not the time to speak about these things, because I have a contract to 2024, and we are in the middle of this project, this beautiful project.”
“When the time comes I will sit down with my management and I will see the options I have, and after that we will decide. So definitely, that’s the plan. Liverpool manager? I just responded to that, this is not the moment to speak about these things. I will sit down with my management in 2024 and then we will see all the options that are on the table,” he added.
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