Image Credits: Imago Images
Ajax made a big call when they sacked John Heitinga after just over 4 months in the job.
Heitinga was previously at Liverpool as the assistant manager for Arne Slot during the highly successful 2024/25 season at Anfield.
During their time together, the pair led Liverpool to another league title and took the club level with Manchester United for most league titles won in England.
John Heitinga moving back to his boyhood club to manage the side was meant to be a fairytale story come true.
Unfortunately, the reality was far from that.
After winning just five of his 11 Eredivisie matches in charge of the Amsterdam club and losing all 4 games in the UEFA Champions League games, Heitinga was relieved even before he’d got to the second transfer window of the season.
To replace him, Ajax brought back another man who knows the club well.
Fred Grim was appointed as Heitinga’s replacement and he oversaw a generally positive December for the Amsterdam giants.
But Heitinga wasn’t the only person to move Anfield for Amsterdam this summer.
Vitezslav Jaros joined Ajax on loan and has established himself as the club’s number one this season.
Jaros was joined by midfielder James McConnell, who also joined Ajax on a season long loan.
However, unlike Jaros, James McConnell didn’t quite make the impact in Amsterdam as he’d like.
The 21-year-old midfielder only played more than 45 minutes in one game for Ajax, that was a UEFA Champions League tie against Chelsea that The Blues won 5-1.
That wasn’t quite the plan for player and the club when they agreed to send the Englishman to the Netherlands to aid his development.
To make matters worse, McConnell picked up an injury in December and came back to Liverpool for recovery.
With how the loan turned out, it was widely reported that Ajax and Liverpool could terminate the loan deal.
Despite reports online recently that the loan had been cancelled, Ajax still had James McConnell listed in their squad on their official website.
And now we have confirmation of what is happening with James McConnell.
Ajax head coach Fred Grim was speaking to journalists before his team face Telstar in the Eredivisie this weekend.
In his comments, Grim confirmed that James McConnell is no longer in Amsterdam.
“By agreement between both clubs, he has returned to Liverpool. There are still some administrative procedures to be completed, and then it will be final,” Grim stated.
The comments from Fred Grim explain why James McConnell is still listed on the Ajax website.
There seem some paperwork that have still to be completed before it can McConnell’s loan can be fully terminated.
But Grim has all but confirmed that the two clubs have agreed that the player will leave Ajax earlier than what had originally been planned.
The question now is what’s next for James McConnell.
Playing for Ajax is still quite an accomplishment despite the Amsterdam club not being the force they once were in Europe.
Finding another club with the same prestige and history might not be easy.
Liverpool may look to send him out on loan again, potentially to a club closer to home.
Whatever the case, the story of James McConnell and Ajax has now been shut as Fred Grim has confirmed.
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