Pep Lijnders, who previously served as an assistant at Liverpool, has joined Pep Guardiola’s coaching team at Manchester City.

Manchester City have made a significant move by hiring former Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders to work alongside Pep Guardiola as the club aims to recover from a disappointing 2024/25 season.

Lijnders, who served as Jurgen Klopp’s right-hand man at Anfield, will take over from Juanma Lilo in the City dugout. His appointment comes after a season where City finished third in the Premier League, a staggering 13 points adrift of champions Liverpool.

The campaign was marred by early exits from key competitions, with City bowing out of the UEFA Champions League in the knockout play-off round against Real Madrid and suffering a defeat to Crystal Palace in last month’s FA Cup final.

In a bid to strengthen the squad, City have already secured the signing of Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves and are reportedly close to finalising deals for Rayan Cherki from Lyon and Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan.

The addition of Lijnders, along with former Liverpool set-piece coach James French, is expected to bring a fresh perspective and positive influence to the coaching staff.

City’s director of football, Hugo Viana, expressed his enthusiasm about the new appointments, stating, “We are all delighted that Pepijn and James have joined our senior coaching set-up. Their talent, application, work ethic and all-round commitment are totally aligned with the values that underpin how Pep wants football to be played.”

Viana further added, “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 has a rich history with Liverpool, having joined the club in 2014 during Brendan Rodgers’ tenure. He played a crucial role under Klopp, contributing to Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in 2019 and the Premier League title win in the 2019/20 season.

After leaving Liverpool alongside Klopp last year, Lijnders took the reins at Red Bull Salzburg but was dismissed in December.

Meanwhile, James French, who joined Liverpool in 2012, has spent over a decade with the club as an opposition analyst, bringing valuable experience to the City coaching team.