Arne Slot dealt early Liverpool setback as key staff member now unlikely to join

Liverpool has of course appointed Arne Slot, but plenty of important vacancies remain open. The club has publicly advertised for a number of backroom positions, and it looks as though there will be an early blow when it comes to bringing over a member of the Feyenoord staff.

When Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool, a number of others went with him. Notably, Pep Lijnders has become the manager at Red Bull Salzburg, but there were a raft of other departures too.

It was always likely that Slot would fill some of the positions with his own people. But while Etienne Reijnen initially looked like being one of them, the analyst now seems to be staying put at Feyenoord.

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Per This is Anfield, Slot had intended to bring Reijnen to Liverpool alongside assistant Sipke Hulshoff, who is still expected to join. But failure to secure a UK work permit has proved a major stumbling block, and the coach and analyst has now privately stated that he expects to remain with his current club in the Netherlands.

This, of course, would not have presented a problem prior to the implementation of Brexit, which saw the UK leave the EU. The free movement of people provides a reciprocal freedom to live and work in any other member state, but an equivalent arrangement was not secured in the exit deal.

Liverpool is also still on the lookout for a goalkeeping coach, after the departure of the long-serving John Achterberg. Predating Klopp, he nonetheless left alongside the German — the Reds still have Brazil legend Claudio Taffarel on the books, but will be seeking somebody to head up the department.

The club is also on the lookout for a set piece coach, having posted an advertisement to that effect. A 'performance insights lead' is also wanted for the research team, with renowned data specialist Will Spearman (he boasts a PHD from Harvard and has worked at CERN) sharing the vacancy within his team on X.

Liverpool.com says: Liverpool handled the appointment of Slot nice and efficiently. The process took time, but never became a spectacle, in the way Manchester United has encouraged a circus around Erik ten Hag.

But the backroom vacancies are in danger of becoming a problem. It's clearly a blow for Slot to miss out on one or more of his preferred coaches, given how well he worked with them at Feyenoord, and Liverpool will want to source replacements sooner rather than later.

Pre-season gets underway on July 1. Many players will return later, however, due to participation in the Euros or the Copa America.