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Liverpool are on the lookout for a new assistant coach this summer after seeing John Heitinga depart for Ajax.

Heitinga was a surprise appointment in 2024, but his past as an Everton player did not hinder him during a successful year with the Reds.

With the 41-year-old keen to try his hand at being a head coach, Heitinga has now left Liverpool in order to pursue that dream.

The upshot is that Arne Slot needs to make a key addition to his Liverpool coaching staff.

Sipke Hulshoff will remain as his number two, but a replacement for Heitinga is clearly needed.

Suggestions have arrived that former Reds forward Dirk Kuyt is under consideration by Slot, but the Dutchman is not alone in being reviewed.

And according to former Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld, there is an even better candidate waiting in the wings.

Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

It is hard to determine just how big a role Heitinga played in Liverpool’s success under Slot so far.

However, it is clear that he is a very highly rated coach.

As a result, Liverpool fans may be wary of the drop off which can occasionally occur when backroom changes are made.

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Speaking to Dutch outlet FC Update, though, Westerveld believes Slot’s former Feyenoord assistant, Marino Pusic, will be the right appointment at Anfield.

“I think that at the moment, with all due respect, Arne is number one and Sipke is number two,” explains the former keeper.

Slot will never say that, he will say that they are all one team”

READ MORE: All Liverpool’s goalkeeping options next season as Armin Pecsi prepares to follow Giorgi Mamardashvili

The name of Steven Gerrard has been whispered by some supporters as a potential candidate, but according to Westerveld this would not be a good idea.

“Of course with Gerrard you have a name within the group that travels around the world, but perhaps also unintentionally attracts too much attention,” he said.

“When I saw how Slot and Pusic worked together at Feyenoord, I think he is the perfect candidate.

But I don’t have to tell him that, he will decide that for himself.”

While Gerrard does not appear to be a serious candidate to take a job on Slot’s staff, Pusic certainly is.

The 53-year-old won the Eredivisie alongside Slot and Hulshoff in 2023 and has now left his job as manager of Shakhtar Donetsk.

NameCurrent ClubWorked with Arne Slot before?Marino PusicUnattachedYesDirk KuytBeerschotNoEtienne ReijnenFeyenoordYesLiverpool’s assistant coach candidates

Free to change clubs, it would make a lot of sense if he were to reunite with his former colleagues on Merseyside.

As well as Kuyt, current Feyenoord assistant Etienne Reijnen also appears to be in the running.

Liverpool tried to hire Reijnen last summer, but work permit issues meant he never arrived.

There may be others Liverpool consider as well, but it’s easy to understand why Westerveld thinks Pusic could be perfect.
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