Liverpool allowed James McConnell to Ajax on loan at the end of August.
The move saw the midfielder reunite with John Heitinga, who was Arne Slot’s assistant at Liverpool last season.
There was expectation the Liverpool owned player would get regular minutes under Heitinga but that didn’t happen.
McConnell played 219 minutes from seven matches, of which 101 minutes came in the league. He’s been limited to one start in the Eredivisie this season.
Algemeen Dagblad journalist Johan Inan covers the Amsterdam club. He’s talked about the Liverpool youngster in AD’s podcast and Voetbal Primeur have relayed his comments.
The Dutch club saw Jordan Henderson leave last summer. Inan insists Ajax knew well in advance the experienced midfielder would leave but still decided to replace him with the 21-year-old.
“Crazy. Ajax knew back in January or February that Jordan Henderson would be leaving. That gives you six months to bring in a successor. That didn’t happen,” he said.
“That guy [McConnell] is in his early twenties. And yet everyone was advocating for an experienced number six.”
Earlier this month, Ajax parted ways with Heitinga and are yet to appoint his permanent successor.
The journalist doesn’t rule out a rapid return to Liverpool for McConnell in January. He also stated Ajax are looking for a new midfielder in the winter market.
“I’ll have to see if he’ll finish the season at Ajax. They’re already looking for a new number six,” Inan explained.
Ajax could be forced to look at loan signings due to their restricted budget for the next window.
“Maybe €2m or €3m. But I think it’s highly likely that the new number six and the left back they’re looking for will be loaned out,” he added.