Pepijn Lijnders’ name is increasingly associated with the position of head coach at Ajax. As is known, the Amsterdam team is looking for a new choice for next season and Lijnders is reportedly one of the options on the table. Football International already put forward the name of the current assistant coach at Liverpool as a ‘serious candidate’ and Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Wednesday evening that he is indeed on a ‘shortlist’.
Ajax started the season with Maurice Steijn on the bench, but after a number of dramatic months, the native of The Hague closed the door of the Johan Cruijff ArenA behind him. The fallen superpower then appointed John van ‘t Schip as interim head coach and although the upward trend was set under him, it is clear that the new general manager Alex Kroes will be looking for a new head coach. Football International published a list of possible candidates on Wednesday afternoon, including Lijnders. According to Romano, the former NEC coach is even on a ‘shortlist’ in Amsterdam.
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Lijnders’ name was already linked by British media at the end of last month with a position at the record champions of Ajax. In England it was even reported that Lijnders has already spoken to Ajax and that the Liverpool assistant coach would prepare for the challenge in Amsterdam. Lijnders is doing well as an assistant, including with Jordan Henderson, but has so far gained little or no experience as head coach. The assistant from Broekhuizen joined NEC in January 2018, but his employment in Nijmegen did not last longer than five months. Lijnders returned to Liverpool in the summer of that year – where he was an assistant between 2015 and 2018 – and subsequently experienced great success as Klopp’s right-hand man.
The same Klopp announced at the end of January that he would be saying goodbye to Anfield after this season and at the same time it was announced that Lijnders will also be leaving Liverpool. VI sees both advantages and disadvantages for Ajax in joining forces with Lijnders. “He has an extremely detailed football vision with intensity as a key word and is therefore a serious candidate in Amsterdam. There is no shortage of know-how, but Lijnders has hardly any specific experience as a head coach”that’s what it sounds like. “At Liverpool he gained experience with press conferences and all kinds of other tasks of a head coach. Yet it remains a gamble for Ajax for such a crucial position.”
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