Report- FC Cincinnati speak to Dutch executive Gerard Nijkamp for GM role

UPDATE: SATURDAY (3 PM ET) — Jeff Rueter of The Athletic reported on Saturday that FC Cincy are set to announce Nijkamp as their new GM.

In a statement to The Athletic, FC Cincinnati said that the “club can confirm that Nijkamp was one of the people we spoke with as we evaluated our soccer operations and structure."

FRIDAY (6 PM ET): Reports recently emerged that FC Cincinnati would look to hire a new general manager with club president Jeff Berding discarding that role, and new reports on Friday on both sides of the Atlantic identified a candidate for the GM position.

Dutch outlet Voetbal International reported Gerard Nijkamp is an "important candidate" for the role, and ESPN's Jeff Carlisle corroborating the report on Twitter, with Berding confirming to him that the club have spoken to Nijkamp.

Correction. Berding would only say that Nijkamp is someone they've spoken too as they look to build out the technical side,. My sources tell me that Nikjamp is a candidate however. #FCCincy — Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) May 17, 2019

Nijkamp is currently technical director at Dutch club PEC Zwolle, traditionally a mid-table Eredivisie club that finished 13th in the season just concluded.

A Dutch influence in an MLS club's technical matters would not be new, as the Philadelphia Union had former US international Earnie Stewart serve as technical director from 2015-18, after previously serving in a similar role at NAC Breda and AZ Alkmaar. The Voetbal International report also notes that current FC Cincy players Roland Lamah and Przemyslaw Tyton have previously played in the Netherlands.

FC Cincinnati dismissed head coach Alan Koch earlier this month, and the previous reports about hiring a new GM noted the club would look to hire a GM before hiring a permanent head coach. For now, Yoann Damet is serving as interim head coach.