Ajax has reached an agreement with prospective head coach John Heitinga and assistant Marcel Keizer, according to De Telegraaf, AD, and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on Friday. A contract is ready for them in Amsterdam until mid-2027.
Ajax is looking for a new coach because Italian Francesco Farioli announced earlier this month that he would be leaving the Johan Cruijff ArenA after one season.
According to reports, both have reached a personal agreement, but the news will not be made public until all the paperwork has been signed.
The 41-year-old Heitinga will be the head coach. The former defender was assistant to Arne Slot at Liverpool last season. With ‘The Reds,’ he convincingly became national champion last season. Keizer will be an assistant coach. The 56-year-old former professional has been without a club for a year and a half after adventures in the Middle East.
For Heitinga and Keizer, it means a return to Ajax. Club icon Heitinga was already head coach of Ajax on an interim basis in 2023, but he did not receive a permanent appointment. Keizer also did not have a long life as coach of Ajax in 2017. In his first weeks in Amsterdam, the former professional had to deal with the drama surrounding Abdelhak Nouri, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a training camp in Austria and suffered serious and permanent brain damage as a result.
Ajax Previously Missed Out on Ten Hag
Heitinga and Keizer have been mentioned sporadically in recent weeks as successors to Farioli, who resigned from Ajax last week due to a difference of opinion with the management. Technical director Alex Kroes had Erik ten Hag high on his list, but he chose Bayer Leverkusen on Monday.
Heitinga and Keizer have worked together before at Ajax. In the 2016/2017 season, Keizer was the head coach and Heitinga the assistant coach at Jong Ajax. The following year, Keizer was promoted to the main squad as successor to the departed Peter Bosz.
Heitinga Had to Leave Because of Mislintat
After Keizer’s dismissal, Heitinga, who played 218 games for Ajax in two periods, remained working as a coach in Amsterdam. His highlight followed in 2023, when he was allowed to lead the main squad on an interim basis after the dismissal of Alfred Schreuder.
After a few months, in which Ajax finished third in the Eredivisie and lost the cup final via penalties from PSV, that came to an end again. That’s despite the fact that the players wanted to keep Heitinga.
Then-technical director Sven Mislintat wanted to take a different path and therefore chose Sparta coach Maurice Steijn. That turned out dramatically. Mislintat and Steijn had to leave again after a few months of crisis. Heitinga had already left Ajax and was working as an assistant to David Moyes at West Ham United.