John Heitinga has emerged as an early favourite to take over as coach of Ajax after Liverpool gave the Amsterdam club permission to talk to the former Netherlands international, who is currently assistant coach to Arne Slot at Anfield.

The 41-year-old was interim coach for the second half of the 2022-23 season following the sacking of Alfred Schreuder, steering the team to a third-place finish in the Eredivisie.

Heitinga is being lined up as the successor to Italian coach Francesco Farioli, who quit after one season after narrowly missing out on the league title but securing Champions League qualification for the first time in three years.

After his spell as interim coach Heitinga joined West Ham United as assistant to David Moyes, before moving to Liverpool when former Feyenoord boss Arne Slot was appointed as head coach a year ago. Slot steered the club to its first English premiership title in five years this season.

Former coach Erik ten Hag had been seen as a contender after being out of work since he was sacked by Manchester United in October, but on Monday he signed a two-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen.

Heitinga played 218 matches for Ajax as a central defender between 2001 and 2008 before going on to play for clubs including Atletico Madrid and Everton. He also won 87 international caps for the Netherlands, scoring seven goals.