Ajax have announced they will sack manager John Heitinga, less than six months after he returned to the club from Liverpool. The 41-year-old won just five of his 11 Eredivisie matches in charge, and Ajax sit eight points behind league leaders Feyenoord.
The Dutch champions have also lost all four of their Champions League games this season, most recently a 3-0 home defeat by Galatasaray on Wednesday. Heitinga, a former Everton player, had acted as Arne Slot’s assistant coach last season as Liverpool won the Premier League.
Heitinga signed a two-year contract with Ajax in late May, returning to the club where he made more than 200 appearances as a player and later worked as reserve-team coach and interim head coach. Ajax said he has been suspended and that his contract will be terminated.
Technical director Alex Kroes described the decision as painful, saying the club had given Heitinga time to work with a squad that had changed but ultimately concluded a different appointment would be best for the team. His assistant Marcel Keizer will also be dismissed. Kroes has offered to step down but has been encouraged to remain in his role.
Assistant coach Fred Grim, 60, will take charge on an interim basis. Local media reports that Ajax are interested in reappointing former manager Erik ten Hag, who was sacked by Manchester United in October 2024 and had a brief spell at Bayer Leverkusen, lasting only two Bundesliga matches before his dismissal in September.
