Arne Slot Liverpool
© IMAGO - Arne Slot Liverpool
Arne Slot will be credited for a lot of Liverpool's success this season but it wasn't just down to him.
The entire management and coaching staff was replace last summer and so the Dutchman, for all his hard work, will also have been sufficiently backed up by his backroom staff behind the scenes.
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From assistant managers, to position-specific coaches, to tactical experts regarding throw-ins and set-pieces, Liverpool have an army of experts available to Slot and the players across the season.
You might well have heard of Sipke Hulshoff earlier this season, after the first assistant coach to Slot was shown a red card from Michael Oliver during the heated clash with Everton at Goodison Park.
But behind him, you will find John Heitinga, an experienced coach who has specialised in working one-to-one with players this season. He is known to be a priceless asset in Liverpool's coaching staff and he is increasingly sought after for a permanent management position elsewhere.
John Heitinga Liverpool
© IMAGO - John Heitinga Liverpool
Heitinga could leave this summer
In an interview with Paul Joyce from The Times, the Liverpool manager lifted the lid on his colleague.
He said: "If Ajax would be smart, they would consider him. He is ready to take on a job like that. If John is smart, he would stay one more season."
Not only has Heitinga played for Ajax in the past, he also developed his coaching while at the Dutch club, working as the under-19s manager for three years between 2017 and 2020 alongside helping out with the first team in a stint as caretaker manager in 2023.
A lot of the players and his fellow colleagues have been incredibly positive about Heitinga's work and ever since he joined Slot's team from David Moyes' backroom staff at West Ham, it has been rumoured that Liverpool might struggle to keep the Dutchman for very long.
The main reason why the links away have returned is because Ajax's head coach Francesco Farioli left his position earlier this week following the end of the Eredivisie season.
Ajax were favourites to take the title for most of the campaign, but a slip in form right at the crunch part of the season meant that rivals PSV were able to steal the crown away from them.
Former Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag was said to be the favourite to take over and re-gain his position, although it is now understood by The Athletic that Leverkusen is his likely destination.
As such, Heitinga will now be on the shortlist for the role and he might be approached for the role.
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West Brom approached him earlier this season, but he declined the offer - presumably because the Reds were in the middle of a title charge. But now the season is nearly over, the prospect of becoming a manager for the first time might prove to be too tempting to dismiss.
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