Newcastle 'in talks with Overmars over director of football role'
Newcastle ‘launch talks with Marc Overmars over Ajax chief joining Magpies as director of football… and he wants to bring Erik ten Hag to St James’ as Steve Bruce replacement’
- Newcastle’s Saudi owners are in the early stages of a transformation at St James’
- They’re looking for a transfer chief to guide their assault on football’s top prizes
- Marc Overmars has sold £600m of talent at Ajax and developed top stars
- The signing of Overmars could open the door for Erik ten Hag to follow
Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Hakim Ziyech – Marc Overmars has developed and sold-on some top talent at Ajax. Now Newcastle are lining him up to mastermind their transformation into a super-club.
Top of the new Magpies owners’ wish-list is a new manager and enough star-power to drag them away from the drop-zone – having sacked Steve Bruce and set their sights on shaking-up the Premier League following a £300m takeover.
Overmars, the former speedy Arsenal, Barcelona and Ajax winger, re-joined the Dutch champions in 2012 as director of football and the club’s blueprint of developing talent and dominating domestically is thriving.
Newcastle have approached Marc Overmars about becoming their director of football
The Saudi ownership, with Amanda Staveley as its public face, is aiming for a transformation
Newcastle’s new owners have cash to burn but their rebuild needs careful management. Overmars is a leading candidate, and talks have begun between the parties, according to the Mirror.
The 48-year-old is reportedly interested, and could activate a clause in his Ajax deal – which runs until 2024 – that allows him to walk away on three months notice for an elite European club.
The Premier League side could kill two birds with one stone, as Overmars is keen on bringing Ajax boss Erik ten Hag to England.
The Dutchman has lifted two Eredivisie titles and reached the Champions League semi-finals but chose to pass-up and offer from Tottenham in the summer.
The Magpies must be carefully lifted away from the relegation battle with January moves
Overmars developed the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Donny van de Beek in his role at Ajax
Such strong links to Ajax’s talent pool could prove useful for Newcastle, as the clubs they now aim to compete with – Chelsea, Juventus, Barcelona, Man United – have all raided the Dutch side in recent years.
Overmars helped has spot, develop and sell £600m of talent in nine years in Amsterdam, including £65m De Jong, £68m De Ligt, Davidson Sanchez for £43m, Donny van de Beek at £40m and £37m for Hakim Ziyech.
However, he has competition for the Newcastle role, with Liverpool chief Michael Edwards set to quit Anfield at the end of 2021/22 after overseeing the Reds’ revival, and Lille director Luis Campos.
The Portuguese transfer master is famed for his time at Monaco, developing Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva and Fabinho.
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