Liverpool's former assistant manager Pep Lijnders is looking to add a midfielder to his ranks at Red Bull Salzburg and it could see him target a current player from Arne Slot's squad. 

Liverpool have always held strong links with Red Bull groups, most notably Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig - with whom they've conducted plenty of business in the past.

Those links have only been fortified by the appointment of Liverpool's former assistant manager, Pep Lijnders, at Red Bull Salzburg. Lijnders has become Salzburg's manager, and has also brought former Liverpool staff members, Vitor Matos and Andreas Kornmayer along with him for the ride.

Lijnders has already started Salzburg's competitive campaign with a convincing 6-0 victory in the first round of the Austrian Cup. However, he now faces his most difficult challenge yet very early into his reign.

Lijnders looking to replace Luka Sucic

As we have written about in a previous article, Red Bull Salzburg have announced the departure of Croatian international Luka Sucic to Real Sociedad. The 21 year old youngster was on Liverpool's radar in the past and he's undoubtedly one of Salzburg's most important players.

But now Lijnders must look to find a replacement for the midfielder and it could see him turn his attention towards Liverpool.

Earlier this summer, Liverpool's Bobby Clark has been linked with a move to Salzburg on loan. But Tyler Morton has also been on Red Bull's radar and linked with a move to RB Leipzig.

It's the latter who Lijnders could now turn to as a potential replacement for Sucic, with Morton having always been highly rated by the former Liverpool assistant and his staff.

READ MORE: Mohamed Salah hints at Liverpool mood change.

What Lijnders has said about Tyler Morton?

Lijnders has previously spoken really highly of Tyler Morton and praised him for his some of his 'unbelievable' performances.

In Lijnders' book, Intensity - Inside Liverpool FC - the now Salzburg manager lavished strong praise on Morton after catching his eye in a League Cup game against Norwich City during the 2021/22 season.

"I honestly can say," Lijnders wrote in his book. "If you don't like Tyler Morton, you don't like football. He is the kind of player who can make a team great because the hardest thing in football is playing simple.

"After the game I grabbed him in the tunnel while he was with Robbo to tell him I thought he played unbelievable. 'I'd never got a welcome like that.' Robbo joked."

Based on those comments, it's obvious Lijnders rates Morton highly. It would not be a surprise to see Lijnders now turn towards Liverpool to replace Sucic with Morton.

Currently, Morton's future is up in the air at Liverpool and a move to Salzburg could be in the best interest of all parties involved.