Graham Potter, the former manager of Chelsea and Brighton, has turned down an offer to become the next head coach of Ajax. The Dutch club had identified Potter as their top candidate for the position and had held discussions with him, but he has decided that he is not interested in joining Ajax at this time. Instead, Potter is expected to be a leading contender for the managerial position at Manchester United should they decide to part ways with Erik ten Hag this summer. Since being dismissed by Chelsea in April 2023, Potter has been without a job.
Ajax has been without a permanent head coach since Maurice Steijn was fired in October. During his absence, John van’t Schip has been acting as interim coach. The team recently suffered a humiliating 6-0 defeat to rivals Feyenoord and currently sits in sixth place in the Eredivisie, 33 points behind league leaders PSV. In addition to this setback, Ajax was also eliminated from the Europa Conference League after a 4-0 loss to Aston Villa last month.
With Potter turning down the Ajax offer, attention now turns to his potential future with Manchester United. The 48-year-old may be a strong candidate to take over at the Premier League club if they decide to make a change in management. For now, Potter remains focused on finding his next career move and will continue to be closely watched as one of football’s most promising managers.
Potter’s experience managing two different clubs is likely attracting interest from other teams around Europe looking for new leadership. It will be interesting to see where he ends up next and what impact he can have on any team he joins.
Overall, it’s clear that Potter is not interested in joining Ajax at this time despite being heavily targeted by them. He remains focused on finding his next opportunity and continuing to grow as a manager in football.
