Liverpool cult hero offers his services to help Arne Slot in his first season

Liverpool cult hero Dirk Kuyt has given new head coach and fellow Dutchman Arne Slot his backing as he begins his tenure at the club.

Slot was first with many of his new players including Harvey Elliott, Jarrell Quansah, Stefan Bajcetic, Conor Bradley with Curtis Jones, Caoimhin Kelleher and Kostas Tsimikas arriving later in the pre-season for the first time.

Intriguingly, Slot has confirmed that he will hire two more assistant coaches this off-season, with former Feyenoord player and youth coach Kuyt likely to throw his name into the hat.

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Kuyt told Ladbrokes: “Of course if I can help Liverpool in any way then I will. I’ve always been in contact with the people at the club – I’ve worked for the foundation of the club, I’ve done some commercial work for them as well… I’ve always been close to them on or off the pitch, I’ve always tried to help the club, because when you sign for Liverpool, you become part of a family.

Kuyt spent six years with the Reds as a player after joining from the Dutch side, before returning to the club to see out his career, where he later became a manager. The 43-year-old is currently head coach himself with Beerschot in Belgium and has not necessarily hinted at joining the club in an assistant role.

Liverpool have lost their entire coaching staff this off-season, with assistants Pep Ljinders, Peter Krawietz, Vitor Matos and John Achterberg departing along with Jurgen Klopp after last season.

Slot brought in his former assistant Sipke Hulshoff and Ruben Peeters, while hiring goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte to work alongside Brazilian legend Claudio Taffarel. He confirmed on Friday that they would make further additions in the coming days.

He said: “We expect two more to join and more announcements to come in the near future.” He added: “Hulshoff, I’ve worked with at Feyenoord and at a former club Cambuur Leeuwarden. He’s sitting here in the room as you’ve probably seen – that’s already been announced.”

Kuyt is unlikely to leave his role as head coach to take up an assistant job, but Liverpool appear to have already agreed terms with two new managers set to join the club.

Slot will have a busy few weeks ahead of him, with Liverpool having to deal with the contracts of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold – all of whom will become free agents in 2025.