CELTIC will not face any competition from Ajax if they want to appoint Kjetil Knutsen as their new manager after talks between the Norwegian and the Dutch giants broke down tonight.
Knutsen, who led Bodo/Glimt to back-to-back Eliteserien titles in 2020 and 2021, had been targeted as a replacement for John Heitinga by the Eredivisie club after a disappointing season.
However, the Johan Cruyff Arena outfit have now turned their attentions elsewhere after they failed to reach agreement with the 54-year-old during negotiations over the weekend.
Ajax director of football Sven Mislintat had travelled to Norway last week in an attempt to secure the services of the man who was crowned Coach of the Year in his homeland in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
However, the former Champions League winners have now admitted defeat after failing to agree terms with the manager who took Bodo/Glimt into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Conference League last season.
Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf tonight reported: “The German (Mislintat) himself was in Norway for three days to convince Knutsen of a switch to Ajax.
“And Knutsen's agent Mike Kjolo then travelled to Amsterdam to discuss the personal conditions of the Norwegian coach.
“Somewhere there has been a hitch in the negotiations between Mislintat and Knutsen.
“The Norwegian has a special and unusual contract with his club in Norway. He personally shares in the transfer proceeds of players, who are sold by FK Bodø/Glimt.”
Ajax are now looking to bring Maurice Steijn of Sparta Rotterdam as Heitinga’s replacement.
Knutsen has been installed as one of the favourites to take over from Ange Postecoglou at Parkhead following the Greek-Australian’s departure for Tottenham Hotspur earlier this week.
The Norwegian coach, who is under contract until December 2024, has transformed Bodo/Glimt’s fortunes at home and abroad since replacing Aasmund Bjorkan as manager back in 2018.
He masterminded a 5-1 aggregate victory over Celtic in the Conference League knockout round play-off last season and many Celtic fans would like to see the Scottish champions appoint him as Postecoglou’s replacement.
Former Norway and Celtic defender Vidar Riseth last week stated that his compatriot Knutsen would be the perfect man to take over from Postecoglou due to his ability to unearth hidden gems in the trasnsfer market.
He said: "I know that before he signed his current contract with Bodo/Glimt that he had the chance to go to Bundesliga clubs in Germany and Premier League clubs in England. But he felt that he couldn’t walk away because he had a really good team.
“If Celtic have a chance to sign him up they have to because he is a really good coach. He is definitely the right coach for Celtic. But I think it is going to be really difficult for them because he is really happy at Bodo.”
Riseth added: “The system that he uses at Bodo/Glimt has been a big part of their success, but he also has to pick the right players. He is a manager who can see the good side of every player and put all the players he has together in a system that works good. That is very important for a team to get success.
“One of his great strengths is being able to find the right players. Sometimes he doesn’t go for the big, big names. Knutsen is this type of coach. He finds players who are good in the system he uses and makes it work.
“Everyone in Scotland will remember Lubomir Moravcik. When he came to Celtic nobody had heard about him. But he played brilliant football, scored a lot of good goals and enjoyed great success. He is a legend at Parkhead now.
“Celtic are not able to spend the sort of money on players that the teams they play in Europe can. That is why I think Knutsen is the right coach for Celtic.”h
