Klopp's backroom gamble: targeting former City aide for Germany

Incoming Germany manager Jurgen Klopp is reportedly targeting former Manchester City assistant Pep Lijnders to join his backroom staff, a move that would reunite the Dutchman with the German after their successful spell at Liverpool. Lijnders, who served on Pep Guardiola’s final coaching staff at Manchester City before leaving, is the preferred candidate. Klopp’s long‑anticipated appointment as Germany manager is edging closer, and he is already mapping out the coaching team he intends to bring to the national side. The former Liverpool boss is understood to be selecting staff who share his philosophy and personal chemistry, a principle that guided his successful partnership with Lijnders at Anfield. Lijnders was a key architect of the high‑intensity, counter‑pressing style that defined Liverpool’s most successful period under Klopp. His contribution helped the club secure major domestic and European trophies during their collaboration. Before rejoining Klopp, Lijnders served on Pep Guardiola’s final coaching staff at Manchester City, adding another prestigious chapter to his résumé. Guardiola’s departure from the Etihad Stadium at the end of last season ended that particular association.

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According to Sam Wallace of The Telegraph, Klopp is targeting a reunion with Lijnders when he formally assumes the Germany role. Wallace notes that Klopp values continuity and trust, and that Lijnders’s experience under both Klopp and Guardiola gives him a coaching profile of rare breadth. It remains unclear whether Lijnders has been approached, but Wallace’s reporting suggests the interest is active rather than speculative. The specificity of the report indicates that discussions are at an early stage as Germany’s new management structure takes shape. For Manchester City, Lijnders’s potential departure is a footnote to the broader overhaul of the club’s coaching infrastructure following Guardiola’s exit. Enzo Maresca has already assembled his own backroom team as he prepares for his first season in charge at the Etihad Stadium. Klopp and Lijnders’s combined experience of winning the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and Bundesliga titles between them would add considerable credibility to a Germany setup that has struggled to recapture the consistency of previous generations. The prospect of that partnership being reassembled on the international stage is already generating interest across European football. The contrast between Lijnders’s exit from Manchester City and a possible return to work with Klopp underscores the magnitude of the coaching reset at the English club and hints at forthcoming negotiations on the terms of his involvement with Germany.