Liverpool midfielder signing sparks civil WAR

Last summer represented a time of big change around the Liverpool squad.

Although the Reds had claimed the Premier League title sporting director Richard Hughes opted to sanction £450m worth of new signings.

In came the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz on British record deals - and plenty of other players were added in other positions too.

A knock-on effect of course was that several squad members would have to leave in order to free up space for the new faces.

Not only did Hughes sell the likes of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz for big money - with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarell Quansah and Caoimhin Kelleher also among those leaving - there were other talents placed on loan for the season.

James McConnell nightmare Ajax deal

Harvey Elliott went to Aston Villa where he is enduring a tough spell and James McConnell and Vitezslav Jaros joined Ajax.

While Jaros has recently got back into the team it’s fair to say the deal thus far has been a washout for midfielder McConnell.

The 21-year-old hasn’t played for Ajax since October and the head coach who signed him - John Heitinga - has already been sacked.

It’s been suggested that he could return to Liverpool in January - and the ramifications of this ill-conceived loan deal are still being felt.

Ajax chief quits over McConnell deal

The highly respected journalist Mike Verweij in De Telegraaf claims that McConnell’s signing sparked a civil war inside the Johan Cruyff Arena - with the aftershocks still being felt.

That’s because Ajax’s chief scout Kelvin de Lang is leaving the club owing to disagreements over several signings - McConnell included.

“Kelvin de Lang is leaving Ajax,” his report reads.

“The chief scout is seeking a new challenge, having not always felt heard in the signing of players and having a difficult relationship with technical director Alex Kroes.

“De Lang, for example, disagreed with the signing of James McConnell.

“The free transfer of Takehiro Tomiyasu, who had been sidelined for over a year due to serious knee injuries and is currently undergoing a medical in Amsterdam, was supposedly the straw that broke the camel's back.”

McConnell deal looks doomed

Ajax have been in institutional meltdown this season - with ex-Liverpool assistant Heitinga lasting only 15 games as head coach.

McConnell was accused earlier this season of standing in the way of emerging Ajax talents such as Jorthy Mokio - and this deal looked doomed from the start.

Let’s hope he can get out of Ajax as soon as possible and reestablish his career - with Liverpool or elsewhere on loan.

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