Former Assistant Jurgen Klopp, Pep Lijnders, Will Join Manchester City
JAKARTA - Manchester City are close to reaching an agreement to appoint Pep Lijnders as part of Pep Guardiola's new staff.
Lijnders, who once served as Jurgen Klopp's assistant at Liverpool, will replace Juanma airing, whose contract at the Etihad Stadium expires this summer.
His assistant partner, Inigo Dominguez will also leave, along with dead soccer coach Carlos Vicens, who has agreed to become head coach of Portuguese club Braga.
According to ESPN reports, talks with Lijnders went positive and The Citizens hoped to make an announcement after the addition of Guardiola's other staff was approved.
Lijnders joined Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers in 2014 and started working with Klopp after the German was appointed at Anfield in October 2015.
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He took over as head coach of Dutch club NEC in 2018 but returned to Liverpool six months later.
He announced his departure with Klopp last summer and was appointed head coach of Red Bull Salzburg ahead of the 2024/2025 season.
The 42-year-old coach has been unemployed since December 2024 after being sacked by the Austrian club after accompanying only 29 games.
Meanwhile, several sources reported to ESPN that Manchester City was exploring an agreement for Lyon striker Rayan Cherki.
The 21-year-old is seen as an alternative to Florian Wirtz, who is almost moving to Liverpool.
In addition, The Citizens are also interested in the Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest.
The biggest race was Tijjani Reijnders. Manchester City hopes to tie the deal for the AC Milan midfielder before the 2025 Club World Cup.
Clubs are allowed to recruit players between June 1 and June 10, 2025 ahead of the tournament in the United States.
Guardiola and the players who are not involved in international matches will return to training on June 9, 2025.
They will fly to a training ground in Florida on June 12, 2025 before their opening match against Wydad AC at the 2025 Club World Cup in Philadelphia, 18 June 2025.