
Liverpool hero's agent speaks out on rumoured return to Anfield
A romantic return to Liverpool for cult hero Dirk Kuyt has been ruled out by his agent, although the former Reds forward would love to go back to Anfield.
The 44-year-old joined the Reds from Feyenoord in 2006 and would go on to spend six seasons as a regular in the first team.
The forward made 285 appearances in all competitions, netting 71 times, with 51 of those goals coming in the Premier League.
Kuyt played with some legendary Liverpool figures, but it was not an era laden with silverware and the Dutchman left in 2012 with just one League Cup to his name.
He has now moved into management, briefly taking charge of Dutch side ADO Den Haag in 2022 and having been the boss of Belgian outfit Beerschot since 2023.
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
After the departure of Liverpool assistant John Heitinga for Ajax this summer, Kuyt had been linked with a return to Anfield as Arne Slot's new assistant.
However, his agent, Rob Jansen, has dismissed that prospect, although he does feel that Kuyt would love the opportunity if it did arise.
'No, it will be a different assistant coach. That would have been great for him,' Jansen told podcast KieftJansenEgmondGijp, via Voetbal Primeur.
'The assistant of Liverpool will be someone else. It would have been great for Dirk.
'He would have loved to go to Liverpool. Assistant there is of course a serious level.'
Kuyt took Beerschot into the Belgian top flight in his first season in charge but things did not go well in the most recent campaign and relegation followed.
Reports in the Belgian media suggest Kuyt is likely to lose his job after a return to the Challenger Pro League.
Kuyt said earlier this year that Slot has already offered him the chance to be his assistant in the past.
Speaking to That Peter Crouch Podcast, he said of Slot: 'I know him very well. I had the opportunity when I retired from football to become his assistant at AZ.
'I didn't choose to become his assistant which I regret of course now! But when he was at Feyenoord he gave me the opportunity to work a week alongside him to see how he's training and preparing for a game, so that was really interesting and of course I follow him very closely.'
Slot will name a new assistant this summer, but who it will be is yet to become clear. More Trending
The Liverpool Echo has touted the possibilities of Marino Pusic, who was Slot's assistant in previous roles at AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord.
The Bosnian left his role as manager of Shakhtar Donetsk in May, so is available.
Current Feyenoord assistant Etienne Reijnen has also been noted as a possibility as he was linked last year but could not move to Liverpool due to problems with his work permit.
MORE: Son Heung-min casts doubt over Tottenham future with response to Spurs exit link
MORE: Chelsea submit new offer for Jamie Gittens as Borussia Dortmund respond
MORE: Leroy Sane sends message to Bayern Munich over Arsenal transfer
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
Trent Alexander-Arnold's Real Madrid squad number ‘revealed' after Liverpool one was banned and he'll ‘go by new name'
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD is set to change squad number at Real Madrid. The England full-back, 26, is expected to be unveiled by the Spanish giants later today. 1 Throughout his Liverpool career, Alexander-Arnold wore the No66. In LaLiga, however, the No66 is not allowed. The Spanish top flight demands that first team players wear numbers between one and 25, with 13 and 25 specifically for goalkeepers. According to Fabrizio Romano, Alexander-Arnold will wear No12 at Real Madrid. The number was worn with distinction by Marcelo between 2006 and 2022. More recently it was occupied by Eduardo Camavinga, before the Frenchman switched to No6 12 months ago. It's also claimed that Alexander-Arnold will wear "Trent" on the back of his shirt - rather than his surname. The former Liverpool star has already made changes to his Instagram account. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK His username was previously @trentarnold66 - but is now just @trent. The Merseyside star has also changed his bio to feature "Real Madrid C.F." Andy Robertson pays tribute to 'best friend' Trent Alexander-Arnold after he is booed by Liverpool fans Alexander-Arnold agreed a six-year deal with the Spanish giants after turning down a new contract at Liverpool. It initially looked as though he would move for free, before Real Madrid offered £10million to get the move done in time for the Club World Cup. The two-time Premier League winner could make his Real Madrid debut at the revamped competition in the US. Xabi Alonso 's men get their campaign underway against Al-Hilal in Miami next Wednesday, before further group stage games against Pachuca of Mexico and Austrians RB Salzburg.


Metro
33 minutes ago
- Metro
Jadon Sancho's preferred club tells him they are not interested in transfer
Borussia Dortmund have told Jadon Sancho they cannot offer him a route back to the club this summer. Sancho has returned to Manchester United after Chelsea opted against signing him on a permanent deal following a season on loan at Stamford Bridge, paying a £5million penalty to avoid keeping him at the club. Ruben Amorim has no plans to integrate Sancho back into the first-team at Old Trafford. The 25-year-old has one year left on his deal thought to be worth around £300,000-a-week with United desperate to offload him on a permanent basis this summer. After being banished from the squad by Erik ten Hag, Sancho returned to former club Dortmund in January 2024, showing slight glimpses of his once fearsome form as the Bundesliga side reached the Champions League final. A return to Dortmund is reportedly Sancho's preferred option – but his former side are focusing on other priorities this summer. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. Bayer Leverkusen have also been linked with a move for Sancho with the club searching for a replacement for Florian Wirtz who is poised to complete a record move to Liverpool. 'Of course, contact with Jadon is always there, in some way, because we have a very long history,' Dortmund's sporting director Sebastian Kehl said. 'But it's not an issue for us right now. We have other priorities at the moment, and that's why the Sancho issue was probably played up more in the media than discussed internally.' More Trending However, the appointment of ten Hag as Xabi Alonso's replacement would surely scupper those plans given the history between the Dutchman and Sancho. United will take a huge hit on the £71m they paid to side Sancho five years if they do manage to offload him this summer. A loan deal could be a more likely option with Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Tottenham named as three clubs monitoring his situation. United meanwhile are also hoping to offload Marcus Rashford and Antony. The England international is still holding out for a dream move to Barcelona while Real Betis, where Antony shone on loan last season, are not thought to be in a position to meet United's asking price for a permanent move. MORE: Arsenal dealt blow as Nico Williams responds to Bayern Munich approach MORE: Chelsea sent message by Borussia Dortmund over failed Jamie Gittens transfer MORE: AC Milan hit 'problem' in talks to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko from Arsenal


Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
F1 has a growing problem as serving FIA steward brands driver 'a disaster'
In a period when routinely, on social media, accusations of bias in Formula 1 are slung around with abandon, the FIA really isn't helping itself. On the face of it, the appointment of Derek Warwick as one of the stewards on duty at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix is a normal, entirely uninteresting decision. He's more than qualified for the role. Warwick is a veteran of 147 F1 race starts from his own racing career and has been a regular driver steward for many years now. Aged 70, the Brit is one of the most respected people in the F1 paddock whenever he pays a visit. But something has changed in recent times which should raise questions over whether he remains a viable candidate for a stewarding role – his latest media work. Specifically, Warwick is involved with a PR company which supplies quotes from famous names with credit to various gambling companies. One such set of quotes, attributed to Warwick, was sent around this week. In it, he opined that Lando Norris needs to stop making "silly mistakes" if he is to beat Oscar Piastri to the title, claimed Lance Stroll is a better driver than people give him credit for and said Yuki Tsunoda has "had a disaster" since joining the main Red Bull team. In another email, sent earlier this week, quotes attributed to Warwick said Max Verstappen was "absolutely wrong" to drive into George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix and that people are "probably right" to suggest that the Dutchman should have been suspended for his actions. Of course, he is entitled to all of those opinions as a person and many will agree with him on some of those topics. But should he be sharing them in public, given he has the power in his hands when on duty as an FIA steward to hand out punishments to drivers for their actions on track – penalties that could be called into doubt based on his personal views? Well, based on the FIA's own example, he shouldn't. While Warwick remains an active F1 steward, having last served at the Miami Grand Prix in May and been selected for this weekend's event in Montreal, Johnny Herbert was cut from the governing body's pool in January. Explaining that decision at the time, the FIA said Herbert is "is widely respected and brought invaluable experience and expertise to his role... [but] his duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible". Warwick too is widely respected and vastly experienced, but why is he allowed to continue to work in the role? Formula 1 fans can watch every practice, qualifying and race live with Sky's new Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in a new deal that saves £192. As well as Sky Sports access, this includes more than 100 TV channels and free subscriptions to Netflix and Discovery+. To be clear, there is no reason whatsoever to suggest that Warwick or any active FIA steward would allow their personal opinions to affect their decision making. But the problem is that some people WILL make that accusation and, when an active steward is out there publicly criticising drivers, it's not a good look. Verstappen is one penalty point away from a race ban heading into this weekend's Montreal race. If Warwick is on the stewarding panel which hands him the punishment which triggers that ban, you can easily imagine what the reaction will be from fans of the Dutchman and of Red Bull – perhaps even the driver and team themselves. And it will be a problem for the FIA entirely of its own making.