Liverpool could yet benefit from RB Salzburg’s decision to hire Pep Lijnders as their new head coach.
Lijnders has left Liverpool after 10 years of service in various roles at the club. He’ll take charge in Salzburg ahead of the new season.
It is expected that Arne Slot will hire his former assistant at Feyenoord, Sipke Hulshoff, to fill the assistant manager position this summer.
While Slot, Hulshoff and the rest of the new coaching team settle in at the AXA Training Centre, Lijnders will be embarking on an exciting new chapter in his career.
Salzburg are renowned for continuously having a raft of young players who are ready to take the next step. Liverpool have taken advantage of that in the past and they could be about to do so once again.
Oumar Solet up for sale from RB Salzburg
Liverpool are looking for a new centre-back this summer. Although links with Lille’s Leny Yoro are persisting, it looks unlikely that the 18-year-old will end up at Anfield.
Another target, Stuttgart’s Waldemar Anton, could also slip through Liverpool’s fingers. Bayer Leverkusen are reportedly pushing to sign Anton.
Yet more links have put England defender Marc Guehi at the top of Liverpool’s list. However, the Crystal Palace man looks set to cost around £65m.
Knowing how FSG tend to see transfers, you can imagine that they’d be looking for a new player on the cheaper end of the scale.
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And according to French outlet RMC Sport, they could now have the opportunity to sign a former target for a fraction of Guehi’s cost.
Back in February, journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that Liverpool had discussed signing Salzburg’s Oumar Solet in the last days of the January transfer window.
Just four months on, and RMC Sport now claim that Solet is ‘expected’ to leave the Austrian club this summer. With just one year left on his contract, the 24-year-old is reportedly of interest to sides including Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart.
With Solet said to be keen on finding his next challenge, Salzburg are claimed to be hoping for a sale of between £10-13m.
Oumar Solet deal makes sense for Liverpool
Although there are question marks over Virgil van Dijk’s future, it seems likely that the Liverpool captain will still be at Anfield next season.
As a result, Liverpool should more be looking for a player who can come in and act as cover for he and Ibrahima Konate.
With that remit in mind, someone like Solet would be an ideal signing. At 24, he still has years to grow and develop in the future and would still allow for the club to go big on a signing like Yoro.
The fact that Liverpool have entertained his arrival in the recent past suggests that Solet is very much on the radar at Anfield.
If the Reds fail to land other targets or are looking for a cheap fix, then Lijnders might need to be expecting a call from his former employers.