Former Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders will reportedly attempt to sign young Reds goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros for new club RB Salzburg. Lijnders left Anfield alongside Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season and has taken an exciting role in Austria.
The Dutchman is reportedly hoping to use his positive relationship with the Premier League club to help him during the transfer window. Salzburg, who failed to win the Austrian top-flight last summer, are set to replenish their squad to ensure they challenge for the title next season.
According to Salzburger Nachrichten, Lijnders is interested in signing young shot-stopper Jaros. The 22-year-old has never made a senior appearance for the Reds but impressed on loan at Sturm Graz last season.
Jaros could reportedly remain in Austria, with Salzburg eyeing a permanent deal. Lijnders is looking for a new goalkeeper after Timo Horn was released at the end of the season.
Liverpool themselves may take advantage of Lijnders’ new job. The Merseysiders have been linked with Salzburg star Luka Sucic.
The attacking midfielder, 21, is rumoured to have been a target for Liverpool in the past. He scored three goals and provided eight assists in the Austrian Bundesliga last season.
Lijnders was a key part of Liverpool’s success under Klopp. He was assistant during the Premier League and Champions League-winning campaigns.
“It’s 10 years of my life. I feel very grateful, blessed. It’s a club I love,” Lijnders said ahead of Liverpool’s final game of the Premier League season, in which they defeated Wolves 3-1 at Anfield.
“I didn’t want anything to go different from how it went; losing a final and the year after winning a final. We created so many special games together. The feeling is strange.
“It’s the last day here at AXA, we go tomorrow to Anfield. The last three weeks is the first time I felt calmness, no pressure. We came third, there’s no final anymore to play, [so] I just soak it in.”
There has been huge change behind the scenes in the wake of Klopp’s departure. Arne Slot has been appointed as head coach, while Richard Hughes has joined from Bournemouth as Liverpool’s sporting director.
Former Reds sporting directors Michael Edwards and Julian Ward have returned to Anfield to take up roles within the sporting structure of owners Fenway Sports Group.
