Liverpool’s journey to finding the right successor to Jurgen Klopp was a relatively long one.
The Reds were in the fortunate position of knowing well ahead of time that they were going to have to replace the legendary German.
However, that didn’t necessarily make the process any easier. Klopp has been one of the best managers in the club’s history. Finding a person capable of filling his shoes was always going to be a tough task for FSG.
In the end, after reviewing and assessing a number of possible candidates, Arne Slot was chosen as the man to take over at Anfield.
Slot appears a good choice from the Liverpool decision makers. Despite that, it sounds like Klopp himself had a slightly different view on things.
Pep Lijnders admits Jurgen Klopp proposition
Upon hearing that Klopp was set to depart Liverpool, most supporter’s initial reaction would have been one of pure shock.
The second feeling was perhaps then that the man coming in should be Xabi Alonso. The Bayer Leverkusen boss seemed liked the obvious choice.
Alonso wasn’t the only one put forward as being in the frame straight-away, though. The first name to be brought up by the media was in fact assistant manager Pep Lijnders.
Lijnders had long been felt as a possible successor for Klopp, and would surely have been a popular choice. In the end though, the 41-year-old will take on a new challenge as head coach of RB Salzburg.
And speaking to The Athletic about that decision, Lijnders has claimed that Klopp himself asked him if he’d take the reigns from him.
“Jurgen asked me about it a few times in recent years,” says the 41-year-old when asked if he’d ‘thrown his hat in the ring’ to follow Klopp. “The season before I got the question from Jurgen and two times this season, but each time I said ‘no’.”
“The first reason was I really felt that this was a project of ‘us’,” he added, “Jurgen led it and I really felt we should end this project together. Secondly, I’ve been at Liverpool for nearly 10 years. I was ready for a new experience: new people, my own staff, my own players. I gave everything I had to this playing group.”
Did Pep Lijnders make the wrong decision?
It’s one thing being asked by Klopp to take over, but we’re not sure this equates to Lijnders ever really being in the running.
Clearly, his boss wanted to hand him over the responsibility. It would have felt like good continuation for Liverpool and a return to the old ‘Boot Room’ days. But that isn’t reason enough to do it.
The fact of the matter is that Lijnders is a rookie manager who is still unproven at any kind of level.
He reportedly has a great reputation around Europe and has been a brilliant assistant for Liverpool. But whether that equates into being a top number one remains to be seen.
In our opinion, the move to Salzburg represents a really good step for Lijnders. If he can prove himself there – and maybe take a step up in between – perhaps he’ll be better placed to continue Klopp’s legacy at Liverpool somewhere down the line.