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One of the powerhouses of football in the yesteryears, Ajax Amsterdam have come a long way from winning the European Championships to being discredited as a team that harnesses talents and sells them for profit.
A club rich in European tradition with 4 UEFA European/Champions League trophies, 6th in the list of Champions League winners by numbers, Ajax has seen their European runs being reduced to merely a single appearance in the quarterfinals in the premier club competition since 2002/03 season.
The Ajax team of the early 2010s is the latest example of this with players like Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen, Daley Blind (who later rejoined) and Davy Klaassen all being sold for profits and effectively forcing the club to restructure after the loss of their star players. The players themselves look at the Dutch giants as a stepping stone to move to a bigger club rather than stay and help the club grow.
With all this in mind, let's take a look at 5 wonderkids in Ajax who should make the move abroad to fulfill their potential.
The stats are based on statistics provided by Whoscored.com and trasfermarkt.co.uk.
#5 David Neres
The next line of Brazilian superstars in the making, David Neres is a product of the famed Sao Paulo youth academy. The winger joined the Brazilian giants at the tender age of 10 years, spent 9 years in the academy before making his debut in October 2016.
A year later Ajax came calling for the exciting winger as David Neres joined the Dutch giants for a reported fee of €12 million after impressing in the Brazilian league.
The first full season for the Dutch giants saw Neres making an impressive 11 assists and scoring 14 goals in 38 appearances. This season though the young Brazilian seems to have found another level to his game after the turn of the year.
The arrival of Dusan Tadic saw the young Brazilian's appearance being restricted this season which resulted in rumors of an impending move away from the Dutch giants in January. The Brazilian failed to materialize a move away from the club but in a way proved to be a blessing in disguise as he broke into the starting XI soon after, playing an important role in the Dutch giant's impressive win over Los Blancos.
Quick, tricky and an increasing appetite for goal and ability to operate on either flank as well as in false no.9 position makes him one of the most versatile and talented youngsters in the world at the moment.
The decision making of the 22-year old has improved drastically while growing into a player that tracks back and helps in defence as well as being equally good in attack.
David Neres has so far made 61 appearances for the Dutch giants scoring 25 goals and making 22 assists in the process. David Neres recently became a full Brazilian international as he made his debut a couple of days ago against Panama.
#4 Donny Van De Beek
One of the most sought out young midfielders in the world and the second half of the brilliant Ajax central midfield, Donny Van de Beek is a name to be reckoned with in the coming years. Van de Beek joined the Ajax Academy at the age of 11, coming through the youth setup before making his professional debut against Sparta Rotterdam in January 2015 for Jong Ajax (reserve team), aged just 17.
Two months later he got his maiden Senior team call-up as he was an unused sub against ADO Den Haag before eventually making his debut for the Dutch giants 6 months later against Celtic in the UEFA Europa League. By the end of the season, the teenager cemented his place in the first team.
The first full season in the Ajax squad saw Van de Beek making more appearance for the Dutch giants, even making the substitute appearance against Manchester United in the 2016 UEFA Europa League final as Ajax finished runners up in the league and Europa league.
The departure of Davy Klaassen in the following season saw Van de Beek being elevated to the starting lineup. The young midfielder was so good that he eventually filled the void left by Klaassen. At the end of the 2017-18 season, the 20-year old was subjected to many transfer rumors with Tottenham Hotspur and AS Roma looking to capture the brilliant midfielder.
Blessed with brilliant passing and ball retention capabilities, Van de Beek rarely loses the ball and is able to keep it well. Capable of playing any role in Ajax’s midfield three, van de Beek can operate as the main anchor or a bit further forward. He is a very neat and tidy player, who likes to play a lot of quick, short passes, often keeping things simple and playing one or two touch football.
The central midfielder has made 1.3 tackles per game and 0.8 interceptions this season. On the offensive side, the 21-year old averages 1.4 shots, 1.3 key passes and 0.8 dribbles at a pass succession rate of 80%.
Donny Van de Beek has so far made 118 appearances for Ajax and has scored 19 goals and made 18 assists for the Dutch giants.
#3 Andre Onana
Andre Onana can be described as one of the gems in the La Masia that the FC Barcelona failed to recognize during his time with the La Liga giants.
A product of former Barcelona and Inter Milan forward Samuel Eto's Samuel Eto'o foundation, Onana joined the Blaugrana at the age of 13 in 2010. Onana rose up through ranks but failed to get into the first team as the arrival of Jasper Cillessen from Ajax ended any hope of the teenagers wishes to break into the first team.
A move to Ajax followed in the month of January as Ajax the then teenager in 2015, making his debut for Jong Ajax a year later in the second tier of Dutch football. First-team football was once again not available for the Cameroon international as the shot-stopper had to wait for 39 matches getting his opportunity for the main team of the Dutch giants.
The 2016-17 season proved to be the breakthrough season for the young Onana as he filled the void left Jasper Cillesen who went on to join Barcelona at the end of the 2015-16 season. The first season saw the shot-stopper making 46 appearances in all competitions for the Dutch giants with 32 of them coming in the league. The following seasons saw Onana impressing further as he made 38 appearances.
He is excellent on the ball and his excellent ball distribution is one of the reasons he has been able to break through into Ajax team and maintain his starting role Ajax’s playing style.
The goalkeeper has already made over 80 appearances in the league for Ajax and is yet to win a silverware with the club with the runners'up finish against Manchester United in 2017 being his biggest achievement with the club.
#2 Hakim Ziyech
One of the biggest attacking talents representing the continent of Africa at the moment in European football, Hakim Ziyech is quite frankly the oldest player in the list with 26 years of age.
Born in the Netherlands with Moroccan roots, Ziyech started his footballing career with at the age of 8 with Reeal Dronten before making his way into SC Heerenveen Academy at the age of 13. Five years later Ziyech made his professional debut for SC Heerenveen in the third qualifying round of the Europa League against Rapid Bucuresti.
The first professional goal in his career came a year later as Ziyech made the FC Twente at the end of the season, making a total of 46 appearances and scoring 13 goals in his tenure.
The first season with Twente saw Ziyech winning his first of three Eredivisie top assist maker prize with 16 assists. The next season saw the Moroccan being named the captain of the club before stripping it off due to making disrespectful comments against the club and publicly requesting a transfer away from the club.
The attacking midfielder wish of moving away from the club was realized in the next season as Ajax signed the controversial attacker in 2016. It is with the Dutch giants that Ziyech showed his true potential as he won his second and third Eredivisie top assist maker award in successive seasons as well as the Golden Boot in the last season.
Used as an attacking midfielder mainly, Ziyech can play on either on the right wing or centrally. He has a very good first touch and is very good at keeping the ball at his feet. A highly technical player Ziyech has the ability to score the jaw-dropping long rangers and is wonderful in a dead ball situation. Add to that his ability to score crucial goals at a regular frequency, Hakim Ziyech is a treat to watch.
Hakim Ziyech has so far made over 110 appearances for Ajax scoring 37 goals in the process. The Moroccan has so far scored 16 goals and made 11 assists for the Dutch giants this season. The attacking midfielder averages more than 5 shots per game and over 2 key passes per game.
#1 Matthijs De Ligt
The most prized possession in the Ajax football club at the moment, Matthijs De Ligt is the youngest player in the list having just 19 years of age.
De Ligt joined the Ajax Academy at the age of 9 and rose up through the ranks of the youth groups often playing as the youngest member of the team. The central defender was soo good that Jong Ajax, the reserve team of the club, gave him his debut on August 2016 with De Ligt still aged just 16 against FC Emmen in the second division on the Dutch league.
The senior call-up was not far behind as De Ligt started his first match for Ajax just a month later against Willem II, scoring his first ever senior goal in the same match. The goal against Willem made De Ligt the second youngest player ever to do so, aged 17 and 40 days. A month later the teenager was promoted to the senior team.
The end of the season saw De Ligt being the youngest player ever to start in the UEFA Europa League final as Ajax lost to Machester United in the final, ending the season with 23 appearances and 3 goals. The same season saw De Ligt making his first appearance for the national side as he became the youngest player since 1931 to don the jersey for the Oranje.
The sale of Davinson Sanchez to Tottenham saw De Ligt being named as the first team starter. The 18-year old was also named as the youngest captain of Ajax when Joel Veltman was out injured. The first full season with the senior team saw the teenager making 39 appearances for the Dutch giants.
The 2018-19 season has seen the performances of the teenager improving drastically as he claimed the Golden Boy award, the first defender ever to win the award while also becoming a first team starter for the National side. The victory against Real Madrid saw De Ligt becoming the youngest ever captain to win in the knockout stages.
De Ligt is an excellent player with the ball at his feet. The 19-year old averages more than 90% successful pass percentage this season. Standing 6'2 tall the teenager is a threat from the set pieces, his first ever professional goal was scored from a set piece as he headed in from a corner against Willem II. The greatest aspect for the defender though is his tackling ability, De Ligt at this very young age posses the ability to take the ball of the opponent with minimal contact and the teenager averages 1.3 tackles per game this season.
The 19-year old though has his own set of weaknesses with the defender still learning in the trade. The judgement of the teenager is one of the main problems with De Ligt still not having gained enough experience on how to judge a situation.
Physicality is also another problem that he has been faced with in the past with stronger opponents gaining the upper hand over the technically gifted Ajax defender. A move to a bigger club though will help the teenager in fulfilling his potentials and getting over his weaknesses.
