Arne Slot's former assistant rejects chance to join his Anfield backroom staff

Arne Slot has been rejected by his former assistant Marino Pusic in an attempt to bring him to Liverpool as part of the backroom staff when he takes over at Anfield, according to sources in Ukraine.

The Reds negotiations for Slot were relatively smooth but any hiccups were down to the number of staff the Dutchman brought with him from Feyenoord, with the Rotterdam club rightly digging their heels in to avoid mass exits.

And it is understood one of the names Slot wanted was Pusic, who is the current manager of Shakhtar Donetsk after serving at Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar under the incoming Liverpool boss.

But the 52-year-old is happy at Shakhtar and does not wish to leave.

Slot will bring right-hand man Sipke Hulshoff, head of performance Ruben Peeters and analyst Etienne Reijnen with him to Liverpool, subject to work permits.

That goes some way to filling the large number of exits from Jurgen Klopp and his lieutenants.

Speaking of Shakhtar, midfielder Giorgi Sudakov has been linked with Liverpool by the Ukrainian press.

Sources close to the 21-year-old say there is nothing concrete in those reports at the moment but the fee they want, around £55million, means English clubs would be keen.

Shakhtar turned down a bid of around £35m from Napoli in January but believe his value is significantly more than that.

The midfielder is also set to play in the European Championships so his price-tag could increase further.

Coaching was child's play for Slot!

Arne Slot's brother has outlined how the new Liverpool manager started coaching football at the age of just 14, setting in motion a managerial career that has led him to one of the biggest jobs in sport.

Jakko Slot, who is the commercial director of athletics company FBK Games and has worked at Dutch club PEC Zwolle, said last week: 'When we both look back at the sessions we used to do with those boys on the training pitch, it was actually ridiculous.

'The players were 16 years old, two years older than Arne and me! But Arne knew exactly how he wanted to coach them.

'It was way beyond their understanding and way above what a coach should pass on to young players.

'It was top level stuff already, but we both thought it was normal. He is doing everything I always expected and even more. Arne was never the quickest player in his professional career, but he was by far the brightest.

'He has become a famous manager in Europe and can't walk anywhere in the Netherlands without people stopping him for a photo.

'In fact, they stop me too because we look alike, they think I'm Arne! It happens more and more. It's quite funny. I am so proud of Arne.

'What he is achieving is fantastic and yes, he's become a great manager in football. But for me, what makes me more proud than anything else, is his personality. How he has developed as a person in every way.'

Reds lead the way on recycling

Liverpool are celebrating becoming one of the most sustainable sports clubs in the world - with their new campaign You'll Never Recycle Alone being led by legend Ian Rush honouring more than 12,000 fans on a walk of fame down Rockfield Road.

The Reds last week won an award for their recycling initiative The Red Way and statistics have shown that more than 90 per cent of plastic bottles used at Anfield have been recovered for recycling.

That figure accounts to an average of 12,848 bottles recycled every single matchday at Anfield. Now that number of fans will be honoured with their name carved in brickwork down Rockfield Road by Stanley Park in L4.

To create the celebratory name-lined street sustainably, Mr Muscle - a partner of the club - has used reverse graffiti, where recycled plastic stencils have been laid and the surface has been partially cleaned to reveal the names.

Club legend Rush joined current stars Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones and Thiago Alcantara to unveil the walk of fame in honour of hard-working match-going fans who have contributed to Liverpool becoming one of football's leading lights in sustainability.

'You have to look to the future for our kids and grandkids, they want a cleaner environment,' Rush tells Mail Sport.

'We want to keep the planet safe. Little things like this go a long way. It's the way forward - we have to look at the next generation.

'When I see how passionate Liverpool fans are, the city itself, about football - they want to look forward and be one of the first into something like this. The Walk of Fame is just a road where you can go and drop plastic off.

'It helps and it's great that Curtis, Diogo and Thiago are behind the campaign. The youngsters look up to those playing on the pitch, I've had my day! For them to see them doing this is very positive.

'There's a lot more to be done of course but this is a starting point. Let's look again in a year and ask how we can improve it again. It all comes down to Liverpool as a city, everyone comes in and sees how friendly people are.'

The project is co-led by partners Mr Muscle. Every water bottle on offer at Anfield has a sticker that promises that the plastic will one day be a Mr Muscle spray - and the company are now producing a limited-edition Liverpool FC window and glass cleaner.

Well, if departing manager and club legend Jurgen Klopp has a bit more spare time when he hangs up his tactics board this summer, he might get a cut-price deal on his cleaning products at least…

Scots sight of relief over Robertson

Liverpool, and perhaps more pertinently Scotland, were left sweating on Saturday as Andy Robertson hobbled out of the London Stadium with what appeared to be an ankle injury suffered late in the 2-2 draw against West Ham.

The full back is fine, though, and did not even need scans upon returning to the AXA Training Centre.

No significant damage was inflicted and it was probably more of an impact injury, with Robertson likely fit for Sunday's match against Tottenham.

It comes as fellow Scotsman Scott McTominay suffered a blow playing for Manchester United on Saturday, with Bologna midfielder Lewis Ferguson also facing a race against time to be fit for the European Championships.

Growing pains hold Bajcetic back

Stefan Bajcetic was going through an intense warm-up at half-time and in the second half at the London Stadium.

The young Spaniard probably fancied his chances of making his first Premier League appearance of the season but did not get lucky.

He had to settle, instead, for around an hour of action in Liverpool's Premier League 2 defeat against Arsenal at Kirkby.

Bajcetic was one of a string of notable names in the side, also including first-team squad regulars Jayden Danns, Bobby Clark and James McConnell.

Bajcetic had a breakthrough campaign last season as he was one of the shining lights in a fairly dismal year for Liverpool, where they finished fifth in the Premier League. But he has been hampered by injury since.

He has played just 71 first-team minutes this campaign - a first half at Austrian side LASK Linz and a short cameo against Leicester in the Carabao Cup.

But other than that, his year has been hampered by an injury described in layman's terms as growing pains.

Now Champions League qualification is all but secured after Tottenham's loss on Sunday, Bajcetic will hope to get some minutes for the first team in the three relatively dead-rubber matches remaining of the season.

The Reds lost 2-0 against an Arsenal side featuring Jurrien Timber, whose brother interestingly plays under incoming boss Arne Slot at Feyenoord. Amario Cozier-Duberry scored a brace for the Gunners.

Feyenoord's vice-captain keeps close eye on Reds

One Feyenoord star is already paying close attention to Liverpool.

Defender Lutsharel Geertruida, the club's vice-captain, was in the stands for the Reds' 2-2 draw at West Ham on Saturday, according to his social media.

Liverpool icon Dirk Kuyt, now managing in the Belgian second tier with Beerschot, coached Geertruida at Feyenoord's Under 19s and told the Liverpool ECHO last year: 'I am a Feyenoord man and they are doing very well at the moment.

'They have a very good manager in Arne Slot and some of the younger guys like Orkun Kokcu (now at Benfica) and Lutsharel Geertruida are knocking on the door and playing very well. It won't take long for the interest of top European teams to be there for them.

'I hope Liverpool is interested in Feyenoord players, and I am an example it can work! When I was working as under-19s coach, Kokcu and Geertruida were in my team at the time.

'At Ajax you now have the likes of Jurrien Timber and Kenneth Taylor, who we were playing against.

'You know who the talented players are and you can see they are going to have big futures. Cody Gakpo was a great talent and everyone knew from watching him at youth level that he would one day play for a club like Liverpool.'

Could Hancko fit the bill?

If Liverpool were to sign anyone from Feyenoord, though, they might be best looking at Slovakian defender David Hancko.

The 26-year-old is left-footed and fits the bill of the sort of centre half the Reds would want.

Hancko has said he is a Liverpool fan in the past and said in an interview with ESPN: 'The general manager of Feyenoord told me after the contract extension, 'We want to keep you as long as possible'.

'But he said, 'If you get a chance to go to one of the top clubs or something you really want, I'll personally take you to the airport!'. And Liverpool? I used to root for them as a kid. I was crazy about this club.'

Hancko is Feyenoord's record signing and has a deal until 2028. His agent, Branislav Jarusek, went on record to a Czech website saying: 'As an agency, we are in contact not only with these two clubs (Liverpool and PSG), but also with others who are looking into David's situation.'