Liverpool is in talks with the former player of the year from Everton, as Arne Slot makes move in confidence 

After taking over as manager of Liverpool in place of Jurgen Klopp, Arne Slot is managing his first preseason and is still making changes to his backroom staff at Anfield.

As manager Arne Slot considers making a surprise transfer, former Everton player Johnny Heitinga has disclosed that he is in talks with Liverpool.

After taking over from Jurgen Klopp, the Dutchman is currently in the midst of managing his first preseason on Merseyside. Slot has arrived at Anfield accompanied by a number of his own staff members. Along with Aaron Briggs, Ruben Peeters, and Fabian Otte, Spike Hulshoff has been confirmed as his assistant coach.

There are more changes planned for the backroom. The most recent move made by Slot is hiring former Everton defender Heitinga as a coach.

Heitinga himself claims that the Reds have held negotiations and that the Dutchman is one of their targets. “I’m in talks with Liverpool,” he remarked in an interview with De Telegraaf. Right now, all I can say is that Rob Jansen, my agent, and I have been approached and are having negotiations.

Former Dutch international Heitinga spent five years (2009–2014) as an Everton player, the Reds’ Merseyside rivals. In all competitions, he made 140 appearances for the team, and during the 2011–12 campaign, he was named player of the year.

The defender later played for Hertha Berlin and Fulham before joining Ajax, the team he grew up playing for. Heitinga started his coaching career with the Dutch team.

Before taking over the Ajax reserve squad, he was named first-team manager in January 2023. After leading the team to victory in 14 of his 22 games, he left at the conclusion of that campaign.

The next stage in Heitinga’s career was as David Moyes’ assistant at West Ham. The former manager of Manchester United and Everton made insinuations that Heitinga assisted in finalising the transactions for Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus.

Before I brought Johnny in, I met him a few times throughout the summer, according to Moyes. “I had met him a few times, but I also asked him about the Ajax players and potential matches.

They were two boys on our recruitment list, and I had no idea that I would finish up with them. We were disappointed not to be able to sign Fulham’s Joao Palhinha. It goes without saying that we wanted to explore who we could pursue that lead with. Whatever the case, James Ward-Prowse was quite high on my list.

However, as Mo started to become a factor, I was able to discuss Edson with Johnny. I called Steven Pienaar about them as well, since he was one of my former teammates at Everton and he had also played for Ajax.

After Moyes’ departure in the summer, Heitinga departed West Ham. At the London Stadium, he was replaced by former Wolves strategist Julen Lopetegui.