It seems that John de Jong (45)’s days as technical director at PSV are numbered. The club would like to say goodbye for several reasons, according to the Eindhovens Dagblad and Voetbal International. For example, he is accused of blocking the sale of Cody Gakpo at the end of the last transfer period.
De Jong would also be partly responsible for the fact that PSV is not making any real progress in sports. Although the technical director hasn’t left the club yet, it seems only a matter of time. De Jong still has a contract in Eindhoven until mid-2024.
Cody Gakpo
After the transfer period, the supervisory board would have informed him that he can no longer fulfill his position, sources report to the ED and VI. The commissioners would mainly have resisted him because he did not want to sell Cody Gakpo. Even though director Marcel Brands and commercial director Frans Janssen would have supported the technical director in this decision. But they do not have to leave the supervisory board.
It is striking that football commissioner Hans van Breukelen would not want to drop the technical director. A departure from De Jong will also cost PSV a lot of money because his contract has to be bought off, which runs for about two years.
Successor
According to insiders, PSV is already thinking of a successor for John de Jong. Frank Arnesen would be in the picture to take over the baton. A not entirely illogical choice given his network.
Arnesen recently said goodbye to Feyenoord and also has a PSV past. From 1994 to 2004 he was already technically responsible for PSV.
Surprised
John de Jong himself would be surprised by his imminent departure. He wanted to keep Cody Gakpo in Eindhoven and felt supported in this by the rest of the board. PSV supporters also showed for weeks that they did not want to lose the attacker.
Only financially, the sale of Gakpo would have served the club very well. PSV is not in very bad shape, but by missing the Champions League, a top transfer is actually needed not to have to write red numbers this year. Selling Gakpo immediately solved that problem.
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