Ajax is looking to confirm arrival of Italian manager Farioli this week

Amsterdam football club Ajax wants to confirm the arrival of Italian manager Francesco Farioli this week. The 35-year-old will join the club from French Ligue 1 club OGC Nice, where he has a contract until 2025. Club sources say a three-year contract is ready for interim manager John van 't Schip's replacement. De Telegraaf reports that Ajax will pay Nice a sum of 1.25 million euros for the manager.

The Eredivisie club with the most championships in the Netherlands has been looking for a new manager for months. Louis van Gaal, Supervisory Board adviser for the club, said he does not have the energy to work with a team every day. Erik ten Hag is still under contract at Manchester United, and Graham Potter rejected a possible deal after several conversations with the Amsterdam club.

The team had several conversations with Farioli, but the Italian wanted to finish the season with Nice in the right way. The club eventually finished fifth in the top French division.

The expectation is that Farioli will arrive in Amsterdam with his current assistants, Felipe Sanchez Mateos from Spain and the Italian Daniele Cavalietto. Ajax wants Dave Vos, the current manager of Ajax's youth team to also be one of the assistants on the first team. Jong Ajax plays professionally in the Eerste Divisie.

Farioli is considered inexperienced as he has only been a manager for three years. He worked as a goalkeeping coach for 11 years and one year as an assistant manager before managing both Karagümrük and Alanyaspor in Turkey. He was appointed as the Nice manager last summer.

Ajax had one of the worst seasons in the club's history last season, finishing fifth in the Eredivisie league table. The season was marred by off-field controversies, such as former CEO Alex Kroes being accused of insider trading and Supervisory Board Chair Michel van Praag allegedly not having registered shares in the club in time, respectively. Kroes remained with the team as technical director, and Van Praag was not forced out of his role.

Ajax will play in the second qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League next season. Kroes recently said that the club will have to sell off players before it can buy new talent.