.jpg){kind=link}
It hasn’t been long since Ajax agreed the deal to bring former Liverpool assistant coach John Heitinga to the Johan Cruyff ArenA as the club’s next manager, yet the Dutchman has already gone back to Merseyside to sign one of the Premier League champions’ most promising-looking youngsters on loan.
Vítězslav Jaroš has only made one appearance for the Reds as a senior player, but is considered to be a long-term prospect in goal as someone who could possibly replace Alisson Becker in the future. The question is, who is he and should Ajax fans be excited?
Who is Vítězslav Jaroš?
As a youngster, Vítězslav Jaroš spent three years learning his trade with Czech side FK Příbram. Born in Příbram on the 23rd of July 2001, moving to his local club made complete sense for Jaroš, who then joined Slavia Prague in 2011. He was at the Czech giants for six years, catching the eye of the Premier League club in 2017 and moving to Merseyside as a result. It took another three years of working with the young ranks before he appeared in the first-team squad, featuring on the bench in an FA Cup fourth-round replay against Shrewsbury Town, signing a new contract later that year.
@sportinvestcz Vítězslav Jaroš v derby proti Manchesteru United předvedl 4️⃣ zákroky včetně tohoto brilantního a přispěl tak k výhře Liverpoolu 3:0. 🧤 #football #footballtiktok #footballedit #footballedits #footballtogether #footballvideo #futbol #futebol #save #whatasave #footballplayer #czechfootball #soccer #soccertiktok #footballgame #MUNLIV #jaros #vitezslavjaros ♬ původní zvuk – Sport Invest
Jaroš again made the bench the following season, gaining experience of working with the first team in Champions League games against Ajax, both home and away, and Midtjylland. Although he failed to make it off the bench, he got to work with Jürgen Klopp and his coaches before later being sent on loan to Patrick’s Athletic in Ireland. From there, Jaroš went for other loan spells with Notts County, Stockport County and Sturm Graz, learning what it took to appear in the first team of a side as well as also playing for the various different age groups of the Czech Republic national side.
What Ajax Supporters Can Expect From Him
On the fifth of October 2024, Jaroš made his Liverpool debut when Alisson Becker went off injured during a Premier League game against Crystal Palace. Thanks to the fact that Liverpool’s normal second-choice goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher, was already out with an illness, it meant that relatively new manager Arne Slot had to turn to the youngster. It was the 79th minute of an away game, which Liverpool were leading with a slender 1-0 scoreline. Just 23-years-old at the time, he was almost immediately called upon and had to make a save from an Eberechi Eze shot.
That’s an outrageous save from Jaros
— Saranya Madina (@saranya82.bsky.social) 30 October 2024 at 20:38
A few weeks later and he was called into action once more, this time from the start in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion. Although he conceded twice, he did help Liverpool secure a 3-2 win courtesy of a fingertip save from a Simon Adingra header that he pushed onto the post. When Liverpool won the Premier League at the end of the season, Jaroš walked away with a winner’s medal courtesy of his heroics against the Eagles, whilst the club also made it to the final of the League Cup and he would’ve picked up another medal for that if they had gone on to win.
Why Heitinga Has Brought Him In
Although John Heitinga only spent a year with Liverpool, his work as an assistant coach under Arne Slot meant that he got to spend time looking at the work of all of the younger players on the club’s books. Having spent the previous season watching 41-year-old Remko Pasveer play in goal for the club, Ajax supporters will doubtless be relieved to be able to watch someone younger and more agile between the sticks. Having signed Giorgi Mamardashivili as well as youngster Armin Pecsi, Jaroš knows he has competition on his hands back on Merseyside and so will be looking to impress.
Whether he will be able to make the grade at Liverpool is difficult to see, considering the quality of the other goalkeepers on the club’s books, but Heitinga knows exactly how good Jaroš could be and the fact that he’s made him one of his first signings since agreeing to the head coach role at the Johan Cruyff ArenA is something that should very much excite supporters. Although there is no option to buy the player at the end of the loan, if other players in his position impress at Anfield and he does well with Ajax, it isn’t difficult to see a world in which both clubs agree a permanent move might make the most sense.