Who is Sipke Hulshoff? Arne Assistant Slot who left the Netherlands role to allow Liverpool to move

Liverpool are completely revamping their coaching staff this summer. While the title change sees Arne Slot replace Jürgen Klopp, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

A host of coaches left with Klopp, including long-term assistant Pep Lijnders, who was appointed manager at Red Bull Salzburg. That left a number of vacancies for Liverpool to fill.

The team behind Slot will fill some of these positions. A number of Feyenoord coaches are expected to follow him – such as Sipke Hulshoff, who will take over Lijnders’ role as assistant manager.

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Hulshoff is expected to resume exactly the same role he had at Feyenoord, acting as Slot’s right-hand man. He was promoted to this role in 2022.

The 49-year-old first met Slot at Dutch side Cambuur, where the new Liverpool manager was in charge in 2016/17. They later reunited at Feyenoord, with Hulshoff initially working with the under-21s.

Until recently, Hulshoff combined his duties at Feyenoord with a role in the Dutch national team. As such, the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo are already familiar with him.

“He is very clear and tactically strong,” Van Dijk said of Hulshoff last year, speaking to Voetbal International. “I love the moments when he leads a practice. I think I speak for the group as well.”

But Hulshoff stepped down from the role ahead of Euro 2024, apparently to help facilitate a move to Liverpool. He should now be free to start at the same time as Slot early next month, although the summer tournament (along with Copa América) will still prevent him from working with a number of star players until later in the summer.

Hulshoff has some unusual teams on his CV, having previously been the manager of Red Bull Ghana and Al-Arabi. But for the vast majority of his career, at various age levels, he worked as an assistant.

Liverpool.com says: A national team role at the same time as a club job and a previous stint at Red Bull Ghana? Hulshoff looks like something straight out of a Football Manager rescue.

But Slot clearly rates him highly, having decided to keep him as an assistant when he moves from Feyenoord to Liverpool. And his existing relationship with the important Dutch contingent in the team can only be a good thing.