Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is on the shortlist to fill the vacant Ajax manager’s role next season, the club’s technical director Alex Kroes said.
Sources have told ESPN NL that in addition to Ten Hag, Ajax have also sought exploratory contact with Go Ahead Eagles coach Paul Simonis and Jong Oranje coach Michael Reiziger. The latter worked under Ten Hag at Ajax.
“Erik ten Hag has been on the list for a long time,” he said. “He is well-known, he did a fantastic job when he was here.
“I spoke to him briefly on Sunday. He was in the Arena as a spectator,” he added.
However sources have told ESPN NL that Ten Hag is unlikely to take over at Ajax.
Ten Hag attended Ajax’s last game of the Dutch league season against FC Twente on Sunday. They won 2-0 but still fell short of taking the title from PSV Eindhoven.
The 55-year-old Ten Hag coached at Ajax from 2018 to 2022, winning three league titles and taking the club to a Champions League semifinal in 2019 when they came all the way through the preliminary stages.
Farioli resigned on Monday but had already decided to leave after a dramatic draw in their penultimate game against Groningen last Wednesday when Ajax let slip a 2-1 lead nine minutes into stoppage time to effectively cede top place in the table to PSV.
