CORNERFLICK
Ajax has gone through quite a rough patch over the last couple of years. A long string of wrong choices led to the point where one of Europe’s most successful teams ended 5th in the league and needed to play play-offs to even make the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, where they will face off with the losing side of the first Europa League qualifying round between FK Vojvodina and Ferencváros.
The season starts early, with the first game likely taking place on the 23rd of July in Serbia or Hungary. Jordi Cruyff, therefore, had to start moving mountains very early in the transfer window, as Ajax cannot have another bad season. The son of Ajax’s legendary number 14, who has been in charge of Ajax as Technical Director since February, has to rebuild the squad and needs to do so with a tight budget, due to missing the Champions League and poor spending choices of his predecessors, especially the German Sven Mislintat. Ajax is still trying to sell players signed by him, and especially to get rid of the massive salaries in their contracts.
Coach One of the key tasks to start with was to find a new head coach for the team. Especially in light of the fact that Ajax fired John Heitinga and his replacement, Fred Grim, during the season, means that the club wanted to find a coach with more experience at the highest level. Various names have been passed in the news cycle, but it was clear from the start that Jordi Cruijff was likely to use his Spanish network. A couple of names that were mentioned were: Eder Sarabia (Elche CF), Iñigo Pérez (Rayo Vallecano, now Villarreal CF), Arne Slot (after losing his Liverpool job), and even Pep Guardiola after his departure at Manchester City and due to his close ties to the Cruijff Family. But one name was the most consistent in the rumours, and that was the one of Míchel, the head coach of Girona. On the 2nd of June, Ajax presented him as head coach. He will initially be on a 2-year contract.
Cruijff and Míchel are now picking up the big task of bringing the squad up to the standards that a top club like Ajax should have. This would be an effort of targeted signings of more experienced and proven players, while trying to sell the players that will not make the cut. Jordi Cruijff specifically stated that he starts with the top targets, and in that light, it is not strange that for some key positions, he is even looking towards Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
Goalkeeper After the departure of veteran goalkeeper Remko Pasveer, the return of the loan player Vítězslav Jaroš to Liverpool, as well as the somewhat unsteady performances of the winter signing Maarten Paes, the goalkeeper position is one of those positions where Ajax really needs reinforcement. And for that position, the names mentioned are not small ones: Marc-André ter Stegen and Yann Sommer. Two very experienced names that have spent several seasons performing at the very top at FC Barcelona and Inter Milan respectively. As of now, while serious, no deal seems to be imminent, especially due to the limited salary capabilities of Ajax. Nevertheless, either goalkeeper would be a massive improvement for the squad.
Defense In the defense, 2 deals are now very likely to be announced very soon. During the last few days, it seems to be very likely that Caio Henrique (28), the Brazilian left back of AS Monaco, will join the Amsterdam squad. The rumours say that Ajax has already reached an agreement with Monaco for around 9 million euros. He will likely be the main replacement for both Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who ran out of their relatively short contracts. Additionally, Ajax is likely trying to sell Owen Wijndal once again, whose salary was agreed upon in better times for the club and is now an issue. To make it worse, his poor performances and limited game time do not bring any benefits to the club.
The other very likely move is the return of Daley Blind. His return is both romantically and logically interesting. First of all, his advanced age for a football player will likely make this his final stint ahead of retiring. As the son of the legendary captain Danny Blind, a youth academy product, and as one of the players who were part of various successful squads (including the famous 2018-2019 season), a retirement at Ajax would be a nice way to close his career. But it does not only make sense through red-and-white colored glasses, but it also makes sense logically. Daley Blind has spent the last few years at Girona and was a key element in Míchel’s squad there. His experience and football intelligence can make him a leader on the team once again and help improve the various younger players on the team.
Midfield For the midfield, the biggest pain point is the number 6 position. A central midfielder who oversees the pitch and can matter the flow of the game, make corrections, and guide the younger players upfront and beside him. The main target for a long time was Dani Ceballos of Real Madrid. For some time, this was seemingly close to becoming real, but in the last days, a move for Ceballos to Real Betis is very close. After Ceballos, no other name has been mentioned that much yet.
The rest of the midfield is full of talent that is starting to make their mark, such as Sean Steur and Jorthy Mokio. The presence of Davy Klaassen, often nicknamed “Ajax fan on the pitch”, will also still be a contributing factor.
Attack In the attack, Ajax is most in need of an additional striker. Wout Weghorst is about to leave the club, with rumours suggesting he will either join FC Twente or Beşiktaş. That would leave Ajax with only Kasper Dolberg as the main targetman up front.
The latest suggestion is that Míchel is trying to use his connection to Artem Dovbyk to try to convince him to join. Dovbyk is trying to get back into the game following an injury-prone season at AS Roma. Ajax will have strong competition for his signature from the likes of Everton. However, Míchel needs to show his convincing power, and Ajax needs to convince AS Roma to let him go, as Dovbyk still has 3 years left on his contract.
The other Ukrainian linked to a move to Ajax is Viktor Tsygankov. This could be a more likely move, as Tsygankov was also a part of Míchel’s Girona squad. Moreover, the Ukrainian only has one year left on his contract, which could compel Girona to sell him for a lower price. Ajax also has competition here, with Espanyol and Trabzonspor also showing interest in the Ukrainian.
By far the main priority for Ajax would be to keep the most valuable player of the Eredivisie in their squad, Mika Godts. The Belgian left-wing attacker was the true highlight of the season, with 17 goals and 13 assists. The Belgian national team’s coach helped Ajax a bit with this, as he did not select him for the World Cup.
Conclusion A lot of work needs to happen in the upcoming month, and the time until the kick-off of the first official match in Novi Sad or Budapest is slowly running out. Ajax fans are looking forward to seeing the first players being signed. Cruijff and Míchel really need to use their network and convince the players of the move. But it is not impossible, as we have seen many players who came from big clubs joining Eredivisie sides for playing time and relaunching their careers. Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling, Ivan Perišić, and Mario Götze are all examples of this.