Arne Slot had seemed utterly convinced that he was staying at Liverpool only last week, so much so that he already had plans in place to hire a new assistant coach for the Reds.
The Dutchman had two different assistants during each of his two years at Anfield, and looked primed to make that three with Giovanni van Bronckhorst likely to leave for Feyenoord.
Reports had put Slot‘s former No. 2 at Feyenoord, Etienne Reijnen, as favourite to join, and according to Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, the 39-year-old had already quit his job under Robin van Persie, only to realise that there was no longer a new one available to him on Merseyside.
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Reijnen out of work after Slot sacking
Slot had wanted to bring Reijnen to Liverpool with him when first taking the job in 2024, and finally looked poised to get his wish this summer.
To many supporters, the claims that Reijnen was joining only cemented the belief that Slot was staying for a third year, and it seems that his soon-to-be assistant coach was taken as much by surprise as anyone else that that would not be the case.
It’s claimed that the former PEC Zwolle centre-back had ‘already packed his bags in a different way’ to Slot, preparing to arrive at Anfield ready for a rebuild this summer.
Sadly, Reijnen is reported to have quit his position at Feyenoord, and with the Dutch club having already replaced him, he is now out of work.
He is unlikely to be on the scrapheap for too long, though, and it will be interesting to see whether Slot brings him in as an assistant for his next job.
Slot has been linked with the vacancy at AC Milan, and heading there with Reijnen would not throw up any of the work permit issues which initially blocked his arrival at Liverpool.
In the meantime, it is easy to feel sorry for the departing Liverpool head coach, but anyone in that frame of mind should note that Slot has reportedly picked up around 8 million Euros in severance pay from the Reds this weekend. He and Reijnen will both be absolutely fine.
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