Jurgen Klopp’s assistant manager Pep Lijnders is set to take charge of Dutch giants Ajax this summer after leaving Liverpool, according to HITC.
The 41-year-old will be leaving Anfield alongside Klopp at the end of the season after a decade with the club.
Lijnders briefly took charge of Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen in 2018, during which the club was in the second tier. Unfortunately, his four-month tenure ended with his dismissal, as he was unable to secure the team a place in the promotion play-offs.
However, the 41-year-old swiftly returned to his former role at Liverpool a month later and continued to play a crucial role in the club’s successful period under Klopp, marked by numerous trophy victories.
HITC claims that Lijnders is on the brink of a return to his native country and is positioned to become the manager of Ajax, reuniting with former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.
The club is facing a challenging season and, at one point, found themselves in the Eredivisie relegation zone.
Ajax have managed to stabilise and climb back up to fifth position after a challenging period but are actively seeking new management for the next season.
The current interim boss, John van’t Schip, is transitioning to the role of technical director after the dismissal of Maurice Steijn in October.
Pep Lijnders is top of Ajax’s wishlist for the managerial position, and Liverpool hae reportedly given their approval for him to engage in discussions with the Dutch club.
Despite the ongoing success at Liverpool, where they are pursuing a quadruple following their recent Carabao Cup victory on Sunday, Lijnders might embark on a new chapter away from Merseyside.
On his decision to leave this summer earlier this month, Lijinders said: “It’s not easy, leaving such a club.
“But in life I feel always you have to do the right thing and the right thing means that in the summer we said we continue and we go with all we have, we make it ‘the Last Dance’, we make it like a proper ending.
“I always said I will finish with Jurgen; the moment I will not assist anyone else, that’s the moment I will go and I will manage.
“That was always the case. So when we spoke, it was clear for me. Okay, then I go and manage, and we end this project together [that] we started. But yeah, it’s not easy.”
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