Ajax and Jordi Cruijff have reached a verbal agreement on a contract running until mid-2028 in which Cruijff will succeed Alex Kroes as technical director.

The 51-year-old is the son of the Amsterdam club’s icon Johan Cruijff who died almost 10 years ago.

Ajax said the process is in its final phase, with a number of formal steps still to be completed. The club aims for Cruijff to start in early February 2026.

Ajax has been without a technical director since early November, when Kroes stepped aside following the dismissal of head coach John Heitinga.

Talks between Cruijff and Ajax have been under way for some time. At the end of November, a photo circulated showing Cruijff attending a meeting in Barcelona with his agent and Ajax directors Menno Geelen and Marijn Beuker.

Born in Amsterdam in 1974, Cruijff played in Ajax’s youth academy before moving to Barcelona with his father in 1988. He progressed through the youth ranks at FC Barcelona and made his first-team debut under his father.

Cruijff later played for Manchester United, Celta de Vigo, Deportivo Alavés and RCD Espanyol, earning nine caps for the Netherlands.

After retiring as a player, he worked as a coach and sporting director, including roles at Maccabi Tel Aviv. From 2021, he returned to Barcelona as a technical adviser and sporting director, and most recently served as technical adviser to the Indonesian national team.

Cruijff’s first job will be to find a successor for interim coach Henk Grim and chief scout Kelvin de Lang.