After just one year as an assistant coach to Arne Slot, John Heitinga has left Liverpool to join Ajax in the role of head coach.
Heitinga has now been officially confirmed as Ajax’s new head coach, with Marcel Keizer acting as his assistant.
The 41-year-old ex-Everton defender has signed a deal running until 2027 to rejoin his former club, where he served as caretaker manager for the second half of the 2022/23 season.
Heitinga was expected by many to become the Ajax manager once his interim spell had concluded, but then sporting director Sven Mislintat decided to go in a different, unsuccessful direction.
Having been hired by Slot last year following a season as an assistant coach at West Ham, the Dutchman leaves Liverpool after a year to join an Ajax side that Jordan Henderson currently calls home.
Ajax has reached an agreement with John Heitinga regarding the coach’s move to Amsterdam. Heitinga is signing a contract with Ajax as head coach until June 30, 2027 ?? pic.twitter.com/FD24kaFsWC
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) May 31, 2025
Liverpool confirmed the news on Saturday, saying in a statement: “John leaves with our gratitude and appreciation for his role in our 2024-25 Premier League title win.”
Despite only being with the Reds as an assistant coach for one season, he had his fair share of experiences as the leading man in the dugout.
With Slot and Sipke Hulshoff serving two-match suspensions for their reaction to the referee’s performance against Everton in February, Heitinga took over as the lead figure in the dugout for Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Newcastle and 3-1 win over Southampton at Anfield.
While having earned his stripes at Ajax, West Ham and most recently Liverpool, Slot recently stated that Heitinga would be best remaining on Merseyside.
The head coach told reporters including the Times‘ Paul Joyce last week: “If Ajax would be smart, they would consider him.
“He is ready to take on a job like that. If John is smart, he would stay one more season.”
Having played an influential part in Liverpool’s 20th league title, Heitinga will now go down in Liverpool folklore and his contribution to the Reds’ success will be remembered by fans.
While, like Slot, we wish he had stayed a year longer, we still wish Heitinga good luck in his new role! The search for his replacement is already underway.
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