James Pearce has suggested that Pep Lijnders would be a viable candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp in 2024 due to FSG’s preference for continuity.
The German was thought to have previously hinted at his openness to extending his stay in Merseyside, though later confirmed that the plan remains very much unchanged with regard to his future.
“The flip side of that is that FSG would say, despite Klopp being this huge personality who just impacts across the whole club, they’d like to think they’ve got a structure in place that could withstand the exit of a key man like him,” the Athletic journalist spoke on The Red Agenda podcast.
“In the same way they think they can kick on without Michael Edwards on the basis that Julian Ward has been groomed as his successor.
“You think maybe they’ll go down a similar path with Pep Lijnders because going for Lijnders would ensure that there would be a lot of continuity and we’ve seen before that continuity is something the owners like.”
That’s not to discount linked man, Steven Gerrard, who has impressed at the helm of Aston Villa following his exit from the Scottish top-flight.
“In football so much can change in a couple of years in terms of the rise and fall of certain coaches and whose stock is so high in one minute can not even be in contention the next,” Pearce added.
“People will question would Gerrard have enough experience come that time.
“Well let’s wait and see what he does with Aston Villa in the next two years, because a lot can happen in that point.
“If he’s got Aston Villa playing in Europe in two years’ time and they’re a top eight Premier League team then you’d have to say what more would you expect him to do at Aston Villa to prove that he was ready to take the next step.”
The prospect of replacing a figurehead like Klopp is a terrifying one to consider in light of the transformation he kickstarted at the club after replacing Brendan Rodgers.
That being said, that’s not to suggest that it’s outright impossible for us to enjoy any sense of continuity in light of the structures Pearce has rightly pointed to.
As our 54-year-old coach would be the first to admit, he couldn’t do the job at Liverpool without a superb array of staff surrounding him – including Lijnders, whom Jurgen has complete faith in.
#Ep42 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Is Jota underappreciated? FA failing fans… and more!