He's not saying who it is just yet, but FC Cincinnati general manager Gerard Nijkamp said the club has likely made up its mind on who will be its next head coach, speaking on Thursday to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Speaking with the Enquirer's Pat Brennan, Nijkamp said the club has made its final decision on who will take over for Ron Jans, who resigned his post in February following a complaint from the MLS Players' Association which accused him of making inappropriate comments.
FC Cincinnati has been coached on an interim basis since Jans' resignation by Yoann Damet, who is in his second stint as interim boss after he also took over last season for the departed Alan Koch. Cincinnati has been linked to former Manchester United and Ajax defender Jaap Stam as a permanent replacement, but Nijkamp declined to divulge in his interview with Brennan whether Stam was indeed the pick.
"I think that this candidate can help us move over to the next phase, to our next stadium, to achieve our goals in the future, making players better and bringing his knowledge and experience inside the club," Nijkamp told Brennan.
Stam last managed Dutch side Feyenoord Rotterdam and has managed PEC Zwolle in the Eredivisie. He also managed Reading FC from 2016-2018. The former Dutch international would have to immigrate to the United States to take over the position, something Nijkamp acknowledged could complicate matters for Stam or any other international candidate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nijkamp is currently in the Netherlands himself, where his family makes its permanent home, working remotely.
"It's at this moment a fact that it is not allowed if this candidate is coming from abroad because I'm still not talking about the name," Nijkamp said. "But it is a fact that if it is an international candidate, the borders are closed. And that is also true for me and I knew that the moment I was taking a plane to the Netherlands."
