Liverpool have officially announced that three key members of the coaching staff have left the club, two weeks after the departure of former head coach Arne Slot.
Following the sacking of Arne Slot at the end of May, it has now been confirmed that Sipke Hulshoff, Ruben Peeters, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst have all followed the Dutchman through the Anfield exit door.
Their departure was widely expected after early reports in the Netherlands but had not been confirmed by the club until Friday morning. An official update has since announced the Dutch trio will leave, with first-team tactical analyst Roderick van der Ham also understood to have vacated his position.
Hulshoff and Peeters joined as first assistant coach and lead physical performance coach respectively when Slot was appointed as the successor to Jurgen Klopp in the summer of 2024. The pair have worked with Slot for a number of years, having originally made the move to Liverpool from Feyenoord.
It stands to reason that they could follow the head coach into his next role, though Slot has already turned down an offer to take over at Fulham and may wait until the Netherlands job is available.
Meanwhile, former Arsenal, Barcelona, and Netherlands midfielder Van Bronckhorst arrived at Anfield last summer to take up a role as an assistant coach within Slot’s set-up, serving as a replacement for John Heitinga.
The former Guangzhou, Rangers, and Besiktas head coach is now rumoured to be in line to become a director at Feyenoord, who recently sacked head coach Robin van Persie.
The Iraola era: Bournemouth backroom staff target of compensation talks
This coaching shake-up comes following the appointment of Andoni Iraola as Liverpool head coach, with the Spaniard due to be joined by a number of his staff from Bournemouth.
It is understood Iraola wants to bring assistants Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper, analyst Tom Webber, and fitness coach Pablo de la Torre with him to Merseyside.
Talks have been underway over deals for Elphick, Cooper, and Webber. Unlike fitness coach Pablo de la Torre who is also likely to arrive as part of Iraola’s new backroom team at Liverpool Elphick, Cooper, and Webber are under contract, and therefore Bournemouth will require compensation.
ReadLiverpoolFC Verdict
While a mass exodus of coaching staff can look unsettling on paper, this is the standard protocol for a club looking to fully back a new manager. Arne Slot’s tenure simply didn’t work out, and allowing Andoni Iraola to bring in his trusted inner circle from Bournemouth like Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper is exactly how Liverpool can ensure a smooth tactical transition.
Liverpool must pay the required compensation to Bournemouth quickly so the new team can get to work ahead of pre-season.
