John Heitinga return a “possibility” for Liverpool
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from DaveOCKOP or go back to LFC Live.
The Reds could be set for a backroom shake-up this summer. Image Credits: Imago ImagesIt is often overlooked just how important the assistant coaches are to the head coach’s success.There hasn’t been many more obvious tales of that than at Liverpool this season.Yes, it is possible that the departure of John Heitinga wasn’t the sole reason behind the derailing of Liverpool during their title defending campaign, but there is no doubt that it must’ve played some part in it.Last summer, after being a key component of Arne Slot’s backroom winning team, John Heitinga departed Liverpool to take up the role as Ajax manager.An incredibly exciting opportunity for the man, but one that would end in disaster.Taking up the role in July, John Heitinga was fired in November after guiding the Eredivisie side to just five wins out of their first eleven matches.Before the situation could get worse, Ajax pulled the plug, with the side eight points adrift of league leaders Feyenoord a mere four months into the season.His first big step into management failed dramatically, and his next move didn’t go much better.In January he joined Tottenham Hotspur to become Thomas Frank’s assistant, but in February, Frank got sacked, and Heitinga has been out of the managerial space ever since.But there could be an opening at Liverpool this summer that carves a route back to the club for John Heitinga.Dominic King for The Telegraph reports: “Feyenoord are keen to recruit Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who has spent the last 12 months as Slot’s assistant, to their technical team and that would leave a vacancy at Anfield.”“John Heitinga, a popular member of Slot’s backroom staff during the title-winning campaign, is a possibility but another option is Etienne Reijnen, who worked with Liverpool’s head coach at Feyenoord.
Work permit issues prevented him joining his old boss on Merseyside in 2024.”Giovanni van Bronckhorst hasn’t had the effect he may have envisioned upon replacing Heitinga as he has helped oversee a campaign that many would want to forget.There is no confirmation that Liverpool are making any moves to bring Heitinga back to the club, or if the man himself even wants to return but many may feel that the good times may return if he does. Arne Slot Etienne Reijnen Giovanni van Bronckhorst John Heitinga