Sven Mislintat emerges as leading candidate for technical director at Ajax as Julian Ward talks collapse | OneFootball

Former Arsenal chief scout Sven Mislintat has emerged as the top candidate for the technical director role at Ajax, according to Telegraaf (h/t The European Lad).

The Eredivisie outfit had earmarked Julian Ward as the priority target, but he has turned down the opportunity.

Recent reports stated that the negotiations with Ward, who will step down from his sporting director role at Liverpool at the end of this season, went awry, leaving the Reds’ chief disappointed.

As a result, Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar has turned his attention towards Mislintat, whose spell with the Gunners was a constant subject of criticism.

During his two-year spell at the Emirates Stadium between 2017 and 2019, most of the signings made by the German chief were deemed failures.

After parting ways with the north Londoners, Mislintat returned to his homeland to take over as VfB Stuttgart’s sporting director, and he helped them gain promotion to Bundesliga.

He bid farewell to Stuttgart last November after deciding not to renew his contract.

There are also rumours of a potential reunion with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, but Mislintat could be heading to Ajax.

Mislintat became a renewed scout during his decade-long spell with Borussia Dortmund, earning the nickname Diamond Eye for unearthing top talents.

His partnership with Jurgen Klopp played a big role in Dortmund’s heydays at the start of the last decade, winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2010/11 and 2011/12 and reaching the finals of the 2012/13 season.

Ajax have failed to replace Marc Overmars since he stepped down from his role as director of football last year after being found guilty of sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues.