Liverpool stalwart leaves for Man City to join ex-Jurgen Klopp assistant Pep Lijnders | OneFootball

Former Reds pair become new additions to Pep Guardiola’s team before Club World Cup campaign

Former Liverpool duo Pep Lijnders and James French have both joined Manchester City ahead of the Club World Cup.

The pair replace Juanma Lillo and Inigo Dominguez, who are both leaving City at the end of their respective contracts. Carlos Vicens, another of Guardiola’s assistants, also departed last month to become the manager of Portuguese club Braga.

“We are all delighted that Pepijn and James have joined our senior coaching set-up,” said City’s director of football Hugo Viana.

“Pepijn and James have each amassed huge experience working in their individual roles over the past few years.

“Their talent, application, work ethic and all-round commitment are totally aligned with the values that underpin how Pep wants football to be played.

“And I have no doubt at all that both will prove to be very important assets for Pep and his coaching team as we prepare for the Club World Cup and then the 2025/26 season.”

Lijnders spent a decade at Liverpool across two stints between 2014-24 after spells with PSV Eindhoven and Porto, initially working in the academy with the under-16s before being promoted to first-team development coach by then manager Brendan Rodgers after only one season.

He was then regarded as an integral member of Klopp’s coaching staff on Merseyside, returning to a senior role in the summer of 2018 after a short-lived four-month spell in charge at Dutch club NEC Nijmegen.

Lijnders remained at Liverpool as an assistant to Klopp until last year, when he followed his long-time boss in leaving the club as he stated his ambition to try his hand at management once again, though lasted just seven months before being sacked by Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg in December.

During his time at the club Liverpool were involved in several thrilling Premier League title battles with Manchester City, finally winning the top-flight for the first time in 30 years in 2019/20, as well as lifting the Champions League in 2018/19, the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and the FA Cup in 2021/22, plus League Cups in 2021/22 and 2023/24.

French, meanwhile, joined Liverpool as a first-team performance analyst focused mostly on set-pieces in 2012 after intern roles with Swansea and the Football Association of Wales (FAW), spending 13 years at Anfield in total as he also worked as an opposition analyst under Klopp and successor Arne Slot.