Six months after lifting the Premier League trophy on Merseyside, the Dutchman found himself under increasing public scrutiny after the Reds dropped to 11th in the table following their 3-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Gary Neville insists the 47-year-old’s job should not be in jeopardy in any way, but it could be one of his lieutenants in the dugout who is the first to leave the club, according to reports emerging on Monday.
Liverpool assistant Van Bronckhorst linked with Indonesia job
According to Football insiderLiverpool assistant coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst is being considered for the Indonesia manager role, which has been vacant since the sacking of former Dutch teammate Patrick Kluivert last month.
The ex-Barcelona and Newcastle striker was sacked after the Southeast Asian nation failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, with the country having close Dutch ties and using a large pool of naturalized heritage players born in the European state.
The 50-year-old only arrived at Anfield in July, having filled the vacancy left by Johnny Heitinga, whose reign as Ajax boss recently came to an abrupt end following a dismal start to the season by their standards.
Slot and Liverpool could do it without further backroom disruption
With Slot having already seen one of his assistant coaches leave less than 18 months after joining Liverpool, and amid the Reds’ ever-increasing struggles on the pitch, he could certainly do without losing another of his trusted assistants at this point.
Van Bronckhorst has experience of working in the Far East during a year-long spell in charge of Chinese club Guangzhou R&F, and it is not unlikely that he could be tempted to coach Indonesia, and not just because of their strong Dutch connections.
Team Garuda has enjoyed a significant rise in fortunes over the past four years, rising 53 places in their position. FIFA world rankings since September 2021 and progressing to the fourth Asian round of World Cup qualifying, where they suffered narrow defeats to 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 Indonesian role, but the potential disruption to Slot’s backroom team is far from ideal for the Reds, especially in their current situation.
While we wouldn’t begrudge Van Bronckhorst the opportunity and respect whatever decision he makes, let’s hope he opts for continued loyalty to the LFC head coach at a time when the 47-year-old would appreciate every bit of support he gets.
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