Ajax have pulled out of the race for Azzedine Ounahi, according to Girona watcher Ivan Quirós. The Amsterdam club had previously been said to have reached a personal agreement with the Moroccan midfielder, but are no longer in the running for his signature.
Quirós says Girona have not reached an agreement with any club for Ounahi at this stage. Panathinaikos in particular, along with PSV, have pushed hard in the past few hours to land the 55-cap international.
Panathinaikos are trying to tempt Ounahi with a particularly lucrative offer. The Greek club want to make him the best-paid player in the Greek league, while PSV have also made their interest clear.
For now, that leaves Ajax firmly out of the picture for the midfielder. Quirós adds that the Amsterdam club had already reached a contractual agreement with Ounahi, but still chose to step away from the negotiations.
Only a few days ago, a move to Amsterdam seemed to be edging closer. Santi Aouna reported on Friday that Ounahi had flown to the Dutch capital for personal talks with Ajax, though other sources denied that shortly afterwards.
There, the midfielder is said to have sat down with Jordi Cruijff, although it was already being stressed at the time that an agreement with Ajax was far from certain. Several clubs were already interested in Ounahi even then.
Coach Míchel Sánchez knows the Moroccan well from their time together at Girona and would have liked to bring him into his squad. Ounahi spent one season under the Spanish coach, but Ajax do not see him as the specialist number six they have been looking for for quite some time.
Meanwhile, Girona are waiting to see how the situation develops in the final phase of the transfer window. Quirós says the Spanish club still hope a buyer will come in for Ounahi.