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John Heitinga, the former Liverpool assistant coach, has been dismissed from his role as Ajax boss after less than six months at the helm with the Dutch giant.
This decision by the Amsterdam club could have significant implications for Reds loan pair Vitezslav Jaros and James McConnell. Heitinga's dismissal came just a day after Ajax's 3-0 home Champions League defeat to Galatasaray on Wednesday.
This loss, their fourth in a row, left Ajax languishing at the bottom of the table and led to the club's main supporters group demanding his removal. An official statement was released confirming the news on Thursday.
Ajax are currently trailing Eredivisie leaders Feyenoord by eight points and have struggled to find form since Heitinga joined from Liverpool in May. His previous roles at the Amsterdam club included player, coach and interim boss.
On Thursday afternoon, Ajax released a statement saying: "The head coach's contract was due to run until June 30, 2027, but will now be terminated. The same applies to assistant coach Marcel Keizer."
Ajax is now on the hunt for a new head coach; in the meantime, Fred Grim will assume Heitinga's responsibilities.
Alex Kroes, Ajax technical director, said: "It's a painful decision. But looking back at the past few months, we must conclude that things have turned out quite differently from what we had envisioned. We've seen too little progress and have unnecessarily dropped points."
Reports from Holland suggest that discussions have already begun with Erik ten Hag about a potential return to Ajax. And the departure of Heitinga is likely to significantly affect the two Liverpool loanees.
Heitinga was particularly keen on bringing in 21-year-old midfielder McConnell, who has managed just two starts since arriving in Holland on a season-long loan in August and was restricted to a brief 12-minute cameo from the bench on Wednesday, during which he picked up a booking.
Jaros, on the other hand, was originally the number one goalkeeper after making a temporary switch to Ajax at the beginning of the summer but has found himself as an unused substitute for the past four matches.
Speaking last month, Heitinga's representative Rob Jansen disclosed that he had cautioned his client against returning to Ajax, where he had previously been both a player and interim manager.
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"I told him: I wouldn't go to Ajax right now," said Jansen, speaking on the KieftJansenEgmonGijp podcast. "He wanted to do it based on his ego, his heart, and his feeling for the club.
"That's also a bit of opportunism, of course, for a young manager, who thinks I'll make things work for me.
"But what he was confronted with was the past, a huge mess within the club. The entire management structure and supervisory board are flawed, the board still needs to find its footing."
Liverpool.com says: Heitinga is a very good coach but it hasn't worked out in the number one role. McConnell and Jaros need Ajax to get his replacement right, with both at a good club to develop if it can stabilize.
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