Pep Lijnders bet entire salary with Jurgen Klopp over Liverpool star's new role
Jurgen Klopp has never been shy to hail the influence of assistant manager Pep Lijnders - and little wonder given it was his idea that turned around Liverpool's form last season.
After a wretched first half of the season, the Reds were in danger of missing out on European football together, with the frailty of their midfield the subject of intense debate. But after being thumped 4-1 by Manchester City in early April, they went unbeaten in their final 11 league games, eventually finishing fifth.
It wasn't enough to secure a spot in the Champions League, with Klopp and co instead returning to Europa League football for the 2023/24 campaign. But it sent a warning to the rest of the Premier League that the Merseyside outfit were still a force to be reckoned with.
And much of the upturn in form was credited to the new role of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Having become much-maligned for his positional play at right-back, the 24-year-old excelled after moving into midfield, producing one majestic display in particular amid a 6-1 win at Leeds.
And it was Lijnders who was the brains behind the operation. In fact, the Dutchman was so convinced on the idea that according to Liverpool.com, he even offered to give up a full year's worth of his salary to Klopp if the tactical switch did not pay dividends.
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It may have been a very loose promise, but it was enough to convince the German boss to take the gamble, and his team duly took 25 points from their final 33. And Lijnders explained how the change benefited his side.
"The team became compact again with the ball," he said. "The team became together again and we were really balanced, we didn't suffer counter-attacks how we suffered them before. A little change can be enough for players to feel free and comfortable again."
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However, the former NEC boss did concede that the plan was derived from elsewhere. John Stones proved a revelation when pushing into a more advanced role for Man City, a notion that intrigued Lijnders.
"It's from the same logic," he added. "If you dominate midfield, you will dominate the game, so you have to search for that. John does it very easy and simple. Top, unbelievable, but even when you have a similar dynamic, each team is completely different because of the individual characteristics. Trent is Trent, who plays passes the stadium didn't see."
The move seemingly worked wonders for Alexander-Arnold's international hopes as well. He was deployed in a central midfield role by Gareth Southgate against Malta this summer, having previously fallen out of favour with the England boss.
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