Not only are Liverpool preparing to bring in a new manager this summer, they also need a whole backroom team as well.
If you ask Jurgen Klopp, he’ll tell you that the coaches he’s worked alongside at Liverpool are just as important as him.
While we don’t agree that that’s true, the likes of Pep Lijnders, Peter Krawietz and Vitor Matos have played a massive part in the Reds’ recent success.
Lijnders looks set to step up and be a first-team manager somewhere. Besiktas are the latest club to be linked with taking a punt on the Dutchman.
That would be the culmination of a long road for Lijnders, who began life at Anfield as a coach in the academy. Another looking to make that transition is Fernando Torres, who has outlined his ambitions to become a manager. As he looks set to leave his role with Atletico Madrid’s U19s, maybe that could be back at Liverpool.
Could Fernando Torres make Liverpool return
According to The Mirror, Torres will leave Atletico’s youth team at the end of the season. That follows news that the 40-year-old had been invited to shadow Klopp at Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre last month.
With vacancies set to open up at Anfield, you can understand why there may now be an expectation that Torres could return to the club he left in 2011.
However, when asked by Rousing The Kop whether this is a possibility, journalist Graeme Bailey says it isn’t something that’s currently on the table.
“He’s not one on my radar,” Bailey admitted. “That doesn’t mean there’s nothing in it. But I think there’s less room for sentimental thinking for Liverpool.
“I wouldn’t rule it out, if someone like Torres is available and wants to work for the club, I wouldn’t rule it out. [But] it’s not one that I’m aware of.”
Should Liverpool look to Fernando Torres
For some fans, they absolutely would not want to see Torres come back to Liverpool in any capacity. Plenty are still wounded by the way he left for Chelsea 13 years ago.
But in our opinion, the World Cup winner would be an interesting appointment. He’s done well at Atletico and could be one to watch as a manager.
With claims that Liverpool might be prepared to be ‘brave’ and hire a shock replacement for Klopp, perhaps Torres could even come into the running for the top job.
Obviously, that would seem a little too early for a manager who is yet to take charge of a senior team. But Arsenal hired Mikel Arteta from a similar position when he was far younger than Torres.
That doesn’t mean that Liverpool should do the same, but it’s certainly something to consider. For the time being though, there’s nothing to suggest this is in the cards.