Trabelsi signs new Ajax deal

Tunisia's Hatem Trabelsi has signed a new contract with Ajax

Tunisian defender Hatem Trabelsi and Ajax Amsterdam have ended their row that saw him sidelined for several months.

The two parties also announced that the player has signed a new, two-year deal that replaces the old contract that was at the centre of the disagreement.

Trabelsi will also rejoin the club's first team immediately.

Ajax director Arie van Eijden said: "Trabelsi wants to play in another country someday, for example England, and to achieve that he will have to play and perform for us again."

"This is the end of a negative period."

Trabelsi has refused to play for Ajax since last winter after the club exercised a one-sided option to extend his contract for three years against his will.

He protested the move in court but lost, and transfer talks with clubs outside the Netherlands proved fruitless.

Coach Ronald Koeman said he had made the first move toward reconciliation.

"I can definitely forget what happened and I'll treat him like any other player.

"Trabelsi was always an important and good player for Ajax," Koeman said.

Before the fight Trabelsi was outstanding for Ajax during the 2002/2003 season and helped Tunisia lift the African Cup of Nations earlier this year.

He had been rumoured to be in talks with Arsenal earlier this year, but a transfer never materialized.

"It was my own decision to come back, and I'm glad that I'm part of the team again," Trabelsi said.

"I don't know whether there's a possibility I could transfer in January: I have to play for Ajax again."

He said he had stayed in shape during his absence but was now talking with Ajax's technical staff over a regime to return to form.

"I'm 70 to 80 percent fit," he said.