Arne Slot's assistant manager could join him at Liverpool after impressing Virgil van Dijk

When Jurgen Klopp departs Liverpool this summer, he will be followed out the exit door by a number of his backroom team.

Assistant managers Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz will also both depart, along with elite-development coach Vitor Matos. Meanwhile, head of recovery and performance, Andreas Schlumberger, is also reportedly due to leave the club.

Consequently, there will be a number of new faces in the Reds dugout next season with Liverpool in the market for far more than just a new manager.

READ MORE: Arne Slot speaks out for first time after being asked about Liverpool manager job

READ MORE: Darwin Nunez and Virgil van Dijk fume as Liverpool supporters respond to Everton taunt

Such a managerial search was ramped up on Wednesday as club bosses opened negotiations with Feyenoord as they look to appoint Arne Slot as Klopp’s successor. The 45-year-old has been identified as the Reds’ preferred candidate ahead of Klopp’s summer exit.

Liverpool have a good relationship with Slot's agent, Rafaela Pimenta, the Brazilian lawyer who also used to represent Ryan Gravenberch before leaving Team Raiola.

Should the Dutchman take over at Anfield, it's been suggested Slot would be keen to bring assistant Sipke Hulshoff with him to Merseyside.

Such a move could be good news for a number of current Reds players, given the 49-year-old currently serves as Ronald Koeman’s assistant manager with the Netherlands along with his role at Feyenoord alongside Slot.

The former Everton boss started his second stint in charge of the Dutch national team in January 2023, with Hulshoff taking over as his number two at the same time. Consequently, he has spent the past 18 months working closely with Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, and Gravenberch with the Netherlands on the international stage.

Liverpool’s Dutch trio are already well-placed to assess the credentials of their potential next management team as a result, while Van Dijk has already spoken positively about Slot’s possible appointment.

The Liverpool captain was also full of praise for Hulshoff during their first international camp together last year.

“Of course I didn’t know Sipke Hulshoff before this,” Van Dijk told Voetbal International. "You have to get to know each other. You see what his qualities are and I personally certainly like that.

“Hopefully he can continue that well. He is very clear and tactically strong. I like the moments when he leads a training session. I think I also speak for the group. We’re only four days into it, but it’s a good start.”

Hulshoff was only six months into his time as Feyenoord assistant manager at the time of his Netherlands appointment, having spent the 2021/22 campaign in charge of their Under-21s. Winning the Eredivisie title in his first season in the role, he had previously worked alongside Slot at Cambuur after they were appointed interim coaches together at the club in October 2016.

Cambuur were 14th in the Eerste Divisie at the time of Slot and Hulshoff’s appointment, but the pair led them to a third-place finish as they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Eredivisie after losing to MVV in the play-offs. Meanwhile, they would also reach the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup for the first time in their history, before Slot left to become an assistant at AZ Alkmaar.

Should Slot and Hulshoff indeed join Liverpool, the latter’s reunion with Van Dijk, Gakpo, and Gravenberch would not be the first time an international working relationship had been replicated at Anfield.

The Reds appointed 1994 World Cup winner Claudio Taffarel as an additional goalkeeping coach in November 2021, with the 57-year-old splitting his duties on the international stage, having held the same post with the Brazil national team since 2014 and working closely with Alisson Becker for club and country as a result.