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Liverpool and Arne Slot are on the hunt for a new assistant after John Heitinga departed to become Ajax’s head coach, ending his one-year tenure at Anfield where he contributed to their 2024/25 Premier League title win.
Heitinga, who previously served as interim Ajax boss in 2023, signed a two-year deal with the Dutch giants following Francesco Farioli’s exit after a late-season collapse.
As a result, a new assistant to Slot is needed sooner rather than later.
One name that has been doing the rounds in the media is Marino Pušić, Slot’s former assistant at Feyenoord, who recently left Shakhtar Donetsk after winning three domestic trophies.
He was pursued by Slot and the club last summer, but rejected the chance to become the manager at the Ukranian giant.
The 52-year-old’s departure from Shakhtar followed a third-place league finish but included a Ukrainian Cup triumph.
Another name that has emerged is Liverpool icon Dirk Kuyt.
The former Liverpool man has just completed his second season at Belgian outfit Beerschot VA
Appointed in December 2023 during the club’s Challenger Pro League campaign, Kuyt inherited a side positioned second in the table and revitalized their push for promotion with an attacking 3-4-3 system.
He got the side promoted to the Pro League at the end of the 2023/24.
However, the transition to the topflight did not pan out quite so well with Kuyt’s side only winning five of 36 matches in the 2024/25 season, finishing 16th and suffering immediate relegation
And while Kuyt is largely expected to leave his role this summer, it won’t be to join up with his compatriot on Merseyside.
His agent, Rob Jansen, confirmed on the KieftJansenEgmondGijp podcast, via Sport Nieuws: “No, it will be a different assistant coach. That would have been great for him. Liverpool’s assistant will be someone else.”
“It would have been great for Dirk. He would have loved to go to Liverpool, assistant there is of course a serious level.”
It remains to be seen if the aforementioned former Feyenoord assistant, Marino Pušić, is now keen to reunited with Slot now that he is a free agent this summer.