Liverpool boss Arne Slot is set to hire Giovanni van Bronckhorst as his new assistant coach ahead of their Premier League title defence.
Slot had been on the lookout for a new No.2 following John Hetinga’s appointment as the Ajax boss and the Liverpool boss has reportedly settled on the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Rangers defender.
The Times reports Van Bronckhorst will move to Anfield, joining a backroom team alongside Sipke Hulshoff and Aaron Briggs.
The appointment sees Van Bronckhorst return to an assistant role for the first time since 2015 having previously been No. 2 to Ronald Koeman at Feyenoord.
The Dutchman, who won the Premier League with Arsenal in 2022, was eventually given the top job at the club and won the league in the 2016-17 season before departing two years later.
The following year, he moved to the Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F but left after 11 months to return to his family.
Van Bronckhorst then moved back to Europe and to Rangers, replacing Steven Gerrard in the Ibrox dugout, and brought success in the form of a Scottish Cup win and a runners-up medal in the 2021-22 Europa League.
However, he was unable to topple Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic and was given the sack in November 2022.
His most recent role came at Turkish side Besiktas who he joined in June 2024 on a two-year deal but a defeat to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League saw him sacked in November having managed just 20 games.
Van Bronckhorst’s appointment is the latest in a summer of change for the reigning champions who have already signed Jeremie Frimpong while Giorgi Mamardashvili will also arrive from Valencia.
The Anfield side look set to strengthen further with a deal for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz expected to be completed.
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The two clubs are reported to be finalising the transfer which could cost Liverpool up to £126.9m, making him the most expensive signing in the club’s and Premier League history.
As well as Wirtz, Liverpool are also looking to bring Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez to the club with the Cherries valuing him at £45m.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool and Bournemouth have been “speaking for weeks” to get the deal over the line.
Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold was presented as a Real Madrid player on Thursday having made the move from Anfield.