Liverpool Raid Premier League Title Rivals Manchester City for Key Member of Backroom Staff
Manchester City head physio Lee Nobes will leave the club after 11 years to join Premier League rivals Liverpool following the international break.
Liverpool had been seeking a replacement since Matt Konopinski left to join the Football Association last month, and Nobes was their first choice.
Sunday's Manchester derby was his last match as part of City's backroom staff and he will start his new role at Melwood when Liverpool's international stars return to the fold next week.
Nobes previously worked at Oldham Athletic before joining City when Sven-Goran Eriksson was manager in 2007. He has gone on to serve Mark Hughes, Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola.
The process of appointing Konopinski's replacement was already at an advanced stage when he left Liverpool after almost a decade of service in early October, with Nobes touted as a strong candidate.
Academy physio Paul Squires has been promoted to first team duties in recent weeks to maintain Liverpool's quota of fitness staff, though it remains to be seen if he will stay with the first team now that Nobes has been appointed.
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Nobes will work closely with Liverpool's head of fitness and conditioning Andreas Kornmayer, head of medical services Andrew Massey and the club's medical rehab and performance manager Philipp Jacobsen.
Liverpool have faced a number of injury problems in recent weeks with Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane among those to miss game time.
Nobes will reunite with a couple of familiar faces at Melwood, having worked with James Milner and Daniel Sturridge during their time at the Etihad Stadium.
