The Liverpool midfielder has had a difficult season so far.
Ajax boss Fred Grim has revealed that the finishing touches are needed to terminate James McConnell’s loan spell.
The Liverpool midfielder moved to the Dutch outfit on a season-long loan last summer. Johnny Heitinga, who was part of Arne Slot’s Premier League title-winning coaching staff, took over the top job at Ajax. He signed McConnell and goalkeeper Viteslav Jaros from Liverpool.
But while Jaros has featured heavy for the Amsterdam outfit, McConnell has had his struggles. The 21-year-old has had injury issues and has made just seven appearances. The sacking of Heitinga in November has also impacted McConnell’s chances of playing.
The former Sunderland youngster is back on Merseyside, although an official announcement that his loan has ended has yet to be made. But Grim, who has been appointed Ajax interim head coach for the rest of the season, revealed that paperwork needs to be signed off before the termination goes through. Grim said: “James McConnell has returned to Liverpool. There are just a few administrative formalities left to complete, then it will be fully official.”
McConnell has made a total of 13 first-team appearances for Liverpool. He is well regarded by head coach Slot, with a temporary departure blocked last January after McConnell delivered an impressive performance in a 3-2 Champions League defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven. Slot said: “If I would have been surprised, it would mean during training sessions he is not able to play at this level and that’s not the truth, because he is competitive to the ones we have that were not even here.
“He is always a very competitive player, so I am not surprised but you always wonder how are you going to react on this stage and at this level. We saw the same with Amara Nallo, which is not a player that has the same impact in training sessions yet as James McConnell. That James plays and is competitive is not a surprise but he definitely deserves credit for his performance today.”
McConnell could head out on loan for the second half of the 2025-26 season. He has reportedly attracted suitors in the Championship, with Swansea City said to be keen. Vitor Matos, who was part of former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s coaching staff, recently took the Swansea helm. West Brom and Oxford United are also potential suitors.
Liverpool have already recalled Owen Beck (Derby County) and James Balagizi (Forest Green) because of respective injury issues.
Aston Villa are keen to send Harvey Elliott back to Anfield. The Kop favourite moved to Villa Park on summer transfer deadline day with an obligation to join permanently for £35 million if he made 10 appearances. However, Elliott has played just five times with Villa reluctant to trigger the clause in his contract. Unai Emery’s side will have to pay a fee for the 22-year-old’s deal to be ended. However, Elliott cannot play for another club in Europe this season, having featured for Liverpool before his exit.
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