Several sources are reporting that Borussia Dortmund have approached Ajax about signing manager Peter Bosz for a fee of €3.5 million plus bonuses.

Who is Peter Bosz?

Excellent question. Peter Bosz is the 53 year old dutch manager of Ajax. As a player, he was most notable playing for Feyenoord for six seasons during the early nineties, first as a midfielder, and later as left back.

His managing career was a very slow, arduous climb through the boondocks of the dutch league. After years of being Assistant Coach, Technical Coach, and Manager of regional clubs, he finally got his shot when he signed a contract as manager of SBV Vitesse in 2013. After helping them qualify for Europe, he briefly moved to Maccabi Tel-Aviv (where he was undefeated) before signing with Ajax at the beginning of this season.

His first year with Ajax was fairly impressive. Even though Ajax fell a single point short of the title, the side managed to make it all the way to the Europa League Final, before they got Mourinho’d by Manchester United. Along the way they took down some impressive sides, most notably Olympique Lyonnais and Schalke.

What is his Managerial Style?

I’d be lying to you if I told you I knew a ton about Bosz’s style of play. From the sources I’ve read, the closest comparison seems to be Johan Cruyff. In an interview with the Guardian before the Europa League Final, he explained his philosophy on defending and pressing:

When I see my team only defending and destroying like I did I will not enjoy it. I thought when I’m on the bench at least I will give myself a happy afternoon. If I give myself a happy afternoon, I can give it to the fans.

...

Barcelona have a three-second rule. We’re not Barcelona, so I put two seconds on. The five-second rule is something that if you lose the ball, this is the best moment to get the ball back again. The opponent needs more or less five seconds to get in the right positions. We have to get it back right away.

That sounds a bit like Klopp’s gegenpressing doesn’t it? It makes sense, given that Klopp was influenced by the legendary dutch manager.

Comparing Bosz to Cruyff is at its best incredibly premature, but he certainly has promise. The deal likely isn’t going to be announced today, but we will see over the course of the coming days.