Arne Slot could face yet another problem as Liverpool backroom coach sought for international job | OneFootball

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot could have yet another headache with which to contend, on top of everything else he’s already trying to handle at Anfield.

Six months on from hoisting the Premier League trophy on Merseyside, the Dutchman has found himself coming under increased public scrutiny after the Reds plummeted to 11th in the table following their 3-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Gary Neville insists that the 47-year-old’s job shouldn’t come under any threat, but it could actually be one of his lieutenants in the dugout who leaves the club first, judging by reports which emerged on Monday.

Liverpool assistant Van Bronckhorst linked with Indonesia job

According to Football Insider, Liverpool assistant coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst is under consideration for the role of Indonesia manager, which has been vacant since the dismissal of former Netherlands teammate Patrick Kluivert last month.

The ex-Barcelona and Newcastle striker was sacked after the southeast Asian country failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, with the nation having close Dutch ties and utilising a large quantity of naturalised heritage players who were born in the European state.

The 50-year-old only came to Anfield in July, having filled the vacancy left by Johnny Heitinga, whose reign as Ajax boss recently came to an abrupt end after a dreadful start to the season by their standards.

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Slot and Liverpool could do without further backroom disruption

With Slot having already seen one of his assistant coaches depart less than 18 months on from joining Liverpool, and amid the Reds’ ever-increasing struggles on the pitch, he could certainly do without losing another of his trusted aides at the moment.

Van Bronckhorst has experience of working in the Far East during a year-long stint in charge of Chinese club Guangzhou R&F, and it’s not implausible that he could be tempted by the opportunity to manage Indonesia, and not just because of their strong Dutch connections either.

Team Garuda have enjoyed a significant upturn in fortunes over the past four years, with a 53-place increase in their FIFA World Ranking since September 2021 and progression to the fourth Asian round of World Cup qualifying, where they suffered narrow defeats to the much higher-ranked Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

It remains to be seen whether or not the 50-year-old would be interested in leaving Liverpool and succeeding Kluivert in the Indonesia job, but the prospective disruption to Slot’s backroom team is far from ideal for the Reds, especially in their current plight.

While we wouldn’t begrudge Van Bronckhorst the opportunity and respect whatever decision he makes, let’s hope that he opts for continued loyalty to the LFC head coach at a time when the 47-year-old would appreciate every bit of support that he gets.