Liverpool assistant’s agent makes statement amid Championship interest
01/04/2025 10:48 AM
John Heitinga will be staying at Liverpool despite interest from West Brom, his agent has confirmed.
The former Ajax, Everton and Netherlands defender joined the Reds in the summer as part of Arne Slot's coaching staff and has seemingly done enough to impress the Baggies.
The former Premier League regulars and promotion hopefuls have a vacant dugout after LaLiga outfit Valencia triggered the release clause of Carlos Corberan.
However, Heitinga's agent has confirmed that his client won't be moving, telling De Telegraaf: "John will definitely stay at Liverpool this season."
Ex-Everton player Heitinga was a surprise arrival at Anfield during the summer, with Slot bringing over his entire coaching team from Feyenoord upon his appointment.
Yet with one member unable to sign in time due to visa restrictions, Heitinga was recruited as a free agent.
The 41-year-old spent the previous season at West Ham as an assistant, but left in the summer alongside manager David Moyes.
Heitinga started his coaching career at boyhood club Ajax in 2017, shortly after retiring with them as a player.
Having coached the under 19s and second team Jong Ajax, he stepped up to the main job in 2023 to replace the disastrous Alfred Schreuder who had led the Eredivisie giants into the relegation zone.
Heitinga would stabilise things for a third-place finish and Europa League football, departing with a record of 14 wins, four draws and four defeats in 22 games.
Now back as an assistant, Heitinga has been part of a coaching team that has led Liverpool to an extraordinary start in the post-Jurgen Klopp era.
The Reds have won 23 of their 27 games in all competitions and have suffered just a single defeat this season.
That leaves them top of the Premier League and the league phase of the Champions League, while they're also through to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
That's understandably drawn interest towards Heitinga, although hiring a Liverpool assistant isn't always the best idea.
Long-time Klopp assistant Pepijn Lijnders left alongside the German in the summer and took up a new job in the Austrian Bundesliga with Red Bull Salzburg.
However, Lijnders lasted just six months in the post before being sacked on December 16 with a record of 13 wins and nine defeats in 29 games.
