BREAKING NEWS: Henry named 'second assistant coach' to new Belgium boss Martinez

Thierry Henry has been appointed as "second assistant coach" to new Belgium boss Roberto Martinez, the KBVB has announced.

Henry left his role as Arsenal Under-18 boss in July after Arsene Wenger reportedly refused to sanction the former France international combining the role with his television commitments.

And that has allowed him to link-up with Martinez, who took over as Red Devils boss after Marc Wilmots was sacked following Belgium's disappointing Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Wales.

Chris Van Puyvelde, the KBVB executive director, said: "Roberto Martínez's assistant coach will be Graeme Jones.

"Thierry Henry will be the second assistant coach."

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Van Puyvelde added: "Richard Evans has been added to our staff as Head of Team and Individual Fitness and our goalkeeping coaches are Erwin Lemmens and Inaki Bergara."

It is the appointment of Henry that catches the eye, though, with Martinez eager to talk up the 39-year-old.

He said: "We are here to help the real quality we have. We need to support the players. The contact time with them is very short so the impact has to be as big as we can [make it].

"To have the experience we have in the staff is very important. And being able to bring new people in and having that contact with the players will be vital. Graeme Jones has worked with some Belgian players in England and his experience will be enjoyable for them.

"Thierry Henry brings something completely different. He is someone that has been in the situation of having to develop a mentality of a team to chase the dream of winning something special. He did that with his country in 1996 leading up to 1998 [when France won the World Cup]

"He's very much an important figure for our staff by being able to pass on his experience."

Asked if Henry had to be persuaded to take the role on, Martinez added: "We all know the footballers we have in Belgium are an intriguing case and straight away he was very keen to join us and pass on his experience.

"We are going to work together and help this talent to become a team that is competitive.

"I am very satisfied that the KBVB has been able to create an impressive staff."

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