Pep Lijnders could return to English football as Klopp’s former assistant has interview lined up | OneFootball

Twelve months on from leaving Liverpool along with his then-boss Jurgen Klopp, Pep Lijnders could potentially be in line for a return to English football.

It’s exactly one year ago today that the Dutchman signed a contract to take charge of Red Bull Salzburg, his second spell as a manager in his own right (after four months at NEC Nijmegen in 2018), but his sojourn in Austria didn’t go to plan.

The 42-year-old was dismissed shortly before Christmas, his tenue lasting only 29 matches as his side – who up to 2022/23 had won 10 successive league titles – were 10 points off the pace domestically at the time of his departure, while also exiting the Champions League early.

However, that hasn’t prevented Lijnders from being lined up for an interview for the vacant managerial post at Norwich City, as reported by The Telegraph.

Lijnders to be interviewed for Norwich job

Klopp’s former right-hand man will hold talks with the Carrow Road hierarchy this week after the recent dismissal of Johannes Hoff Thorup.

Another ex-Anfield employee in Gary O’Neil (previously an assistant coach with the Reds’ under-23s) has already been interviewed for the Canaries gig, while Steve Cooper (ex-Nottingham Forest and Leicester) has also been sounded out.

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Could Lijnders lift Norwich back to the Premier League if given the chance?

While Lijnders was a trusted aide of Klopp during a highly successful few years at Liverpool, his two previous posts as a manager have both been short-lived, and clubs in the EFL Championship aren’t known for their patience if they fall short of expectations.

On the face of it, though, a return of 24 wins from 50 games isn’t atrocious, and his experience of managing in the Champions League will surely stand to him, even if he only had one win in six matches to show for it (Transfermarkt).

Since being relegated from the Premier League three years ago, Norwich have twice finished 13th either side of a play-off appearance last season (in which they were outclassed by Leeds), so the Carrow Road faithful will be yearning for the right man to lift them out of this current period of underachievement.

Lijnders might ultimately be overlooked for the job in Norfolk, but getting an interview at least shows that he’s in the frame for another management gig and hasn’t been thrown on the scrapheap just because of his abortive spells at NEC Nijmegen and Red Bull Salzburg.

Hopefully we’ll see him back in the dugout soon, whether that’s with the Canaries or somewhere else!