Ajax plan new contract for Arsenal target Marc Overmars

Bengaluru, February 4: Dutch giants Ajax are weighing up a new contract for their technical director Marc Overmars who is attracting interest from Arsenal.

Arsenal have reportedly identified their former player and Premier League winner Marc Overmars as the first choice to become technical director.

The Gunners currently do not have anyone in the technical director role and it was assumed that head of recruitment Sven Mislintat is set to take the position at the end of the season. However, now with the German leaving the side, head of football, Raul Sanllehi is looking to appoint a new technical director and the former attacker Overmars is one of the options being thought.

Overmars currently has only 18 months remaining in his current Ajax deal but rumours are that the Dutch side are now fighting to keep their director for prolong period with a better contract to fend off interests from outside.

Ajax wants the 45-year-old to extend his contract beyond the summer of 2020, although they have been given no encouragement by the ex-winger that he will commit to a new contract.

Overmars, who played for Arsenal between 1997 and 2000, has been working as Ajax's director of football for nearly seven years and in his tenure, the Dutch side have seen a bunch of promising youngsters coming to the top.

He has been responsible for the development of some of the recent Dutch talents and has a great record in the transfer market as well. His recent success in the market is selling hotshot midfielder Frenkie De Jong to Barcelona for £65.4m whom he signed for only £900,000. His other recruitments the likes of Arkadiusz Milik, Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez etc too has helped him to yield massive profits as he has generated £324m in player sales in less than seven years.

Now Arsenal who are aware of his performance thinks he is the best man to move the club forward as he knows the club well and moreover being a former coach he would be able to talk tactics with the manager and implement a footballing vision throughout the club.

Although Overmars is not the only name considered by the Gunners as the transfer guru Monchi, who is currently working at Roma followed by his success at Sevilla alongside Emery, is another option viewed by the Premier League side. But with Monchi on high financial terms at the Serie A club it could prove to be difficult to prise him away.