“That’s not normal” – Journalist hints at secret Liverpool desire despite impending Arne Slot arrival

Liverpool are secretly hopeful that Pepijn Lijnders will return to the club in future, even if their current focus is on Arne Slot.

That’s according to journalist Henk de Jong, who recently spent time at the club on a trip to England and was seemingly surprised by the reputation Lijnders has built at Anfield.

Lijnders is currently the assistant manager at Liverpool after returning to the club in June 2018 after a previous spell from July 2015 to 2018.

He had departed to be manager at NEC, but that spell ended after 22 games and he elected to return to Merseyside, where he has been working under Jurgen Klopp ever since.

The Dutchman has often been credited with playing a key role in Klopp’s backroom staff at Anfield, with some crediting a large percentage of their success under the German in recent years to the man who has been beside him in the dugout.

That was not enough for the club to consider handing him the main job this summer, though, instead going for a clean break from Klopp, with Lijnders and most of the backroom staff departing when he does at the end of the season.

Instead, the new man in charge will be Arne Slot, who has been targeted over the last week or so and appears to be on the brink of securing a move from Feyenoord.

It seems, though, there is a secret desire for the future, at least according to what De Jong garnered from his visit to Liverpool.

“Pepijn Lijnders, he has had a hard time here, but that’s really the man over there,” he said.

“How people at the club talk about that boy, that’s not normal. They really hope Arne will do very well, but also that he will come back. I thought that was really nice to experience.”