Ajax Amsterdam after SV Hamburg coach Martin Jol

HAMBURG - Ajax Amsterdam are out to hire coach Martin Jol but it remains open whether his current club SV Hamburg will let him go.

German and Dutch news reports said Tuesday that Ajax want Jol to take over from Marco van Basten, who resigned recently after less than a year at the Dutch top club.

A HSV spokesman named the reports “speculation.”

Jol, 52, came to Hamburg last year and has a two-year deal until 2010. He led Hamburg to fifth place in the Bundesliga and the semi-finals of the German cup and UEFA Cup.

Germany’s Bild daily said on its website that Jol will leave and sign a three-year contract at Ajax. Dutch reports said that Ajax have talked to Jol and are discussing a possible takeover fee with Hamburg.