Feyenoord have revealed that Jaap Stam will succeed the club’s current boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the dugout in June, after the 46-year-old penned a two-year deal with the Dutch outfit.
At the start of the year Van Bronckhorst announced that he would leave Feyenoord in the summer after four seasons at the helm. The ex-Arsenal defender led the club to the Eredivisie title in 2016/17, while he also lifted a couple of KNVB Cups, and a brace of Johan Cruyff Shields. However, The Club on the Meuse are currently 15 points adrift of leaders PSV with 10 games left to play.
His future replacement, Stam, surprisingly began his managerial career at Reading in 2016, reaching the Championship play-off final in his first season, only to lose his job the following March.
The former Manchester United defender, who was part of the club’s legendary treble-winning team, returned to the dugout with Dutch side PEC Zwolle in December, but will now depart his post in the summer in order to oversee Feyenoord.
Prior to venturing into senior management, Stam was an assistant at Feyenoord’s rivals Ajax - where he also coached the youth, second team and first team defenders, before taking over at Young Ajax - with whom he also ended his playing career at.
After bagging his new job, Stam told the club’s official website:
“I really feel at home at PEC Zwolle, but it’s true for every ambitious coach that if you get the chance to work at a club like Feyenoord you will think it over very seriously.
“After good, open talks with Martin van Geel about what’s possible and what’s not possible at Feyenoord, I quickly realised that I wanted to go completely for this opportunity. I am grateful to PEC Zwolle for the fact that they understand my ambitions and quickly reached agreement with Feyenoord.”
The former Reading manager will replace current boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who will leave his post at the end of the season.
