£85m Liverpool 'target' hails new Arne Slot signing as club confirms deal

While Liverpool are yet to confirm a transfer signing this summer, they have added the experienced John Heitinga to their backroom staff.

The former Everton defender, who enjoyed five years at Goodison Park, has been developing his craft as a manager since 2017 - one year after he retired at Ajax.

Since then, he took on roles across the U17, U18, U19, U21 and even caretaker manager of the first-team. He spent last season as David Moyes’ assistant at West Ham United and now joins Slot at Liverpool in another successful promotion in his coaching career. And Mohammed Kudus, who played under him at both Ajax and West Ham, hailed him for his coaching ability in a recent interview.

“I felt very good under Heitinga. He is the best trainer I have had at Ajax. Apart from the training aspect, I also have a very high regard for him in terms of standards and values. Personally, I would have loved to work with him longer. He is a top trainer, and I really appreciated his efforts to make the players better at the time. When he took over for the rest of the season, he made an immediate impact. It got better. When we met again, there were immediate things that connected us. He tried to make me and all the other players better.” In terms of re-joining Heitinga once again, it would be a deal that would cost the club a lot of money. In June, it was confirmed the Ghana international has a release clause of £85m. Florian Plettenberg confirmed the news last month.

Speaking on his social media account, Plettenberg said: “Currently, there are no concrete offers for Mohammed Kudus on the table. Kudus has a release clause of £85 million this summer. Contract valid until 2028.Internally, the 23-year-old winger has not yet indicated that he definitely wants to leave the club.”

He impressed last season with 18 goals and seven assists across all competitions as West Ham reached the Europa League quarter-finals and finished ninth in the league.