A respected Dutch source has reported that Sipke Hulshoff has finally agreed a deal to become Arne Slot‘s assistant at Liverpool.
It has been a poorly kept secret that Hulshoff will likely be moving to Liverpool to replace Pepijn Lijnders as the manager’s assistant.
Dutch newspaper Leeuwarder Courant report that a deal has now been agreed, which comes as no surprise after the coach stepped down from his role assisting Ronald Koeman ahead of Euro 2024.
Hulshoff comes with the handy experience of having already worked with club captain Virgil van Dijk, as well as Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch, with the Netherlands national team.
Speaking during Hulshoff’s first camp with the Dutch squad, Van Dijk praised his impact in training, describing the coach as “very clear and tactically strong.”
He explained to vi.nl: “Of course I didn’t know Sipke Hulshoff before this. 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’s coaching career extends beyond just Holland. He spent time at Red Bull Ghana, first as a youth coach then first-team manager, before very briefly taking over as caretaker manager at Qatari club Al-Arabi SC.
He began to make his name, though, at Cambuur where he was assistant manager and stepped in as caretaker boss on three occasions.
His career then took him to FC Volendam before rejoining Slot at Feyenoord where he initially coached the under-21s.
At Feyenoord, he helped Slot’s side reach the Europa Conference League final as well as win the Eredivisie and Dutch Cup.
Who Hulshoff will be working alongside at Liverpool is still somewhat unclear.
While Ruben Peeters is already in place as the first team’s lead physical performance coach, there hasn’t been much progress anywhere else.
This Is Anfield understands coach Etienne Reijnen has privately confirmed that he expects to remain at Feyenoord, due to issues securing a UK work permit.
With Andreas Kornmayer, Vitor Matos, Peter Krawietz and John Achterberg all leaving this summer among others, there are still plenty of roles to fill.
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