Norwich City identify ex-Liverpool coach as potential Johannes Hoff Thorup replacement | OneFootball

Norwich City will reportedly hold talks with former Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders over their vacant managerial position this week.

Former Liverpool coach Pep Lijnders has reportedly emerged as a contender for the vacant Norwich City job.

That's according to The Telegraph, who claim that Norwich will hold talks with Lijnders this week as they continue their search for a replacement for Johannes Hoff Thorup, who was surprisingly sacked last month after the club missed out on the play-offs.

Jack Wilshere took interim charge of the Canaries after Thorup's exit, and after picking up four points from his two games at the helm to secure a 13th-placed finish, he was widely expected to be handed the permanent job.

However, while sporting director Ben Knapper predicted that Wilshere would go on to become "a fantastic head coach" in the future, he revealed last week that he is not under consideration for the full-time role, and the 33-year-old is now set to leave Carrow Road altogether.

Knapper confirmed that Norwich's search for a new manager would instead be "focused externally", and he insisted that the club would take their time to assess potential candidates, with Lijnders believed to be one of those in the frame.

Norwich City set to hold talks with Pep Lijnders over managerial vacancy

Aside from a brief spell as manager of Dutch side NEC in 2018, Lijnders spent almost 10 years working as assistant to Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool between 2014 and 2024, and the pair enjoyed plenty of success together with the Merseyside outfit, winning one Premier League title, one Champions League title, one FA Cup and two League Cups among a host of other honours.

After Klopp announced his decision to step down from his position at Anfield, Lijnders followed him out of the exit door in order to pursue a managerial career of his own, and he took over at Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg last summer.

However, with the club falling behind in the Austrian Bundesliga title race and on the verge of elimination from the Champions League, Salzburg parted company with Lijnders after just over seven months in charge in December.

Despite his disappointing spell in Austria, it appears Lijnders has caught the eye of the Norwich hierarchy, and he is set to be interviewed by the club later this week, but he is far from the only contender to succeed Thorup at Carrow Road.

The Telegraph claim that Gary O'Neil, who has been out of work since being sacked by Wolverhampton Wanderers in December, has already held discussions with the Canaries, and ex-Nottingham Forest and Leicester City manager Steve Cooper has also been "sounded out".

However, it is believed to be "unlikely" that Cooper will be taking over in Norfolk as he continues to weigh up his next move, while former Norwich captain Russell Martin, who has recently made it clear that he is keen to return to management after being dismissed by Southampton in December, is not in the running for the job.

Pep Lijnders would be a risky appointment for Norwich City

Lijnders is the type of young, up-and-coming coach that Norwich were expected to target this summer, but the 42-year-old has not enjoyed too much success during his brief spells in management with NEC and Red Bull Salzburg.

After the failed Thorup experiment, Knapper simply cannot afford to get this appointment wrong, and while Lijnders is clearly a talented coach, he would be too much of a gamble for the Canaries to take at this time.

While it seems Cooper is not currently interested in taking over at Carrow Road, a manager of his calibre with promotion experience would be a strong choice for Norwich, while O'Neil could also be an exciting option after two stints managing in the Premier League with Bournemouth and Wolves.