Liverpool’s head of recovery ‘agreeing a deal to leave in May’

[Oyedibu Fikayo Odunayo]

Liverpool’s head of recovery & performance ‘agreeing a deal to leave in May’
Liverpool have been dealt another blow after it was confirmed their head of recovery and performance will leave the club at the end of the season.

The Reds are already dealing with the inevitable departure of Jurgen Klopp in the summer, after he announced he will step down from the role at the end of 2023-24.

Along with Klopp, first-team coaches Pep Lijnders, Peter Krawietz and Vitor Matos will also leave Anfield as the club prepare to enter into a new era.

However, Liverpool have now been informed that another one of their senior staff members will leave the club once Klopp walks away from his role.

According to The Athletic, Liverpool’s head of recovery and performance Andreas Schlumberger will return to Germany once his compatriot departs.

The outlet report that Schlumberger was under contract until summer 2025 but has reached an agreement with the club to depart early in May.

Schlumberger joined Liverpool as head of recovery and performance at the end of 2020 after a year with Schalke 04, where he was head of fitness and prevention.

He had previously worked with Klopp across four seasons with Borussia Dortmund – between 2011 and 2015 – before being reunited at Anfield.

After his spell at Dortmund, Schlumberger then endured spells at Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach before later joining Schalke.

The Reds, meanwhile, seem to have found a potential successor for Klopp in Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim.

Liverpool had initially pursued their former midfielder Xabi Alonso, who is working wonders at Bayer Leverkusen having led them to an unbeaten Bundesliga season and going 16 points clear of Bayern Munich at the top of the table.

However, Alonso turned down both Liverpool and another interested party in Bayern to pledge his allegiance to Leverkusen next year – leaving Amorim as the next favourite to take the Anfield hotseat.

According to CNN, via O Jogo, the Reds have made initial contact with the 39-year-old manager and his representatives to ‘assess the possibility of him leading the team next season’.

The report adds that there have been no official talks between Liverpool and Sporting as of yet, though Amorim is aware of the Premier League club’s interest in his services.

It went on to say that discussions between the two clubs ‘wouldn’t be prudent at this point in the season’ as Sporting focus on attempting to secure the Portuguese league championship. Sporting are four points clear of nearest rivals Benfica at the top of the league with a game in hand – and just seven games remain.

However, a disputed report from Sky Germany has claimed that a three-year deal has already been reached between Liverpool and Amorim.

His contract expires in 2026 and has a release clause of around £17m (€20m).