Erik ten Hag in Talks for Ajax Return

Erik ten Hag has held discussions with officials at Ajax about a potential return to the Dutch club as manager, just months after his brief and abrupt dismissal from Bayer Leverkusen. The 55-year-old, who previously led Ajax to three Eredivisie titles, became available in early September following two league matches with the Bundesliga side. Ajax, currently struggling in fourth place in the Eredivisie, dismissed John Heitinga last week amid a run of poor results, including four straight defeats in the Champions League.

Ten Hag met with Ajax technical director Alex Kroes earlier this week in the Netherlands to discuss the vacancy. The club, based in Amsterdam, has endured a challenging season under Heitinga, who took over in the summer after serving as an assistant coach at Liverpool. In 15 matches across all competitions, Ajax secured only five wins and five draws, leaving them eight points behind league leaders Feyenoord after 11 fixtures. Their European campaign has been particularly dismal, with losses to Inter Milan, Marseille, Chelsea, and a 3-0 home defeat to Galatasaray on Wednesday, where Victor Osimhen scored a hat trick. This marked Ajax's fourth consecutive Champions...