Ajax’s Champions League campaign started just ten days after the World Cup final, yet they are now just a two-legged tie with Tottenham Hotspur away from reaching the final of the competition for the first time since 1997.
It has been a truly remarkable achievement given the financial disparity that exists between them and the European superclubs who have dominated the competition in recent years. Cristiano Ronaldo, whose Juventus side were sent packing by Ajax, reportedly earns approximately €4m more annually in wages than their entire squad.
An unfortunate consequence of Ajax’s heroics this season, though, is that their side is likely to be picked apart in the summer, just as Monaco’s was when they reached the Champions League semi-finals two years ago. The process has already begun, in fact, with Frenkie De Jong agreeing to join Barcelona for €75m in January.
Barcelona are reportedly looking to complete a double swoop on Ajax by adding the outstanding 19-year-old central defender Matthijs De Ligt to their ranks too, while Moroccan playmaker Hakim Ziyech will likely have his pick of clubs with a buyout clause reportedly set at a ludicrously low £25m.
Monaco’s fall from grace since their phenomenal 2016-17 season highlights the potential perils that await Ajax should their star players depart, yet the club have grown accustomed to replacing their key assets on an annual basis. Indeed, they have already secured three signings for next season, with Martin Odegaard also expected to join from Real Madrid on loan.
Ajax will face four of their former players in the semi-finals and the manner in which the club have moved on from each of their departures demonstrates that their enviable talent factory continues to churn out outstanding players.
Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen and Davinson Sanchez all forged their reputations in Amsterdam before moving onto the big leagues – the latter three signing for Spurs directly from Ajax and Alderweireld joining via season-long spells with Atletico Madrid and Southampton.
Given the success that particular quartet has enjoyed in north London, it is somewhat surprising that other Premier League clubs haven’t taken more of an interest in Ajax’s standout stars over recent seasons. Following their Champions League performances this term, though, that is sure to change.
Here are four less-heralded members of Ajax’s squad who are likely to be on the radar of the top-six clubs this summer.
David Neres
Age: 22
Position: Right Wing/Left Wing/No.10
Clubs he’d suit: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool
Ajax are renowned for the strength of their youth academy and rightly so, but their scouting department takes some beating too. Over the years, Ajax have enjoyed tremendous success while shopping in South America, as the purchases of Maxwell, Davinson Sanchez and David Neres demonstrate.
Despite making only a handful of first-team appearances for Sao Paulo, Neres certainly caught the eye of Ajax’s scouts with the club sanctioning a significant €12m fee to buy him in January 2017. At the time, Ajax’s Director of Football, Marc Overmars said: ‘We have just paid too much, we know that.’
It is unlikely that the former Arsenal and Barcelona speedster has that opinion anymore, considering Neres is being tipped to move on this summer for at least three times what Ajax paid for him two and a half years ago.
Neres displayed promise during his opening few months at Ajax, but he exploded into life during the 2017-18 season, scoring 14 goals and registering 11 assists in the Eredivisie. Although he hasn’t been quite as efficient this season, he has produced big moments in the Champions League, scoring against both Real Madrid and Juventus.
Moments like this piece of skill on Dani Carvajal, meanwhile, show why he has recently made the step-up into Brazil’s senior squad…
David Neres sending Dani Carvajal for a hot dog. ? pic.twitter.com/Vi3CldNH6l
— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) April 23, 2019
Nicolas Tagliafico
Age: 26
Position: Left-back
Clubs he’d suit: Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham
Another player scouted in South America, Nicolas Tagliafico joined Ajax in January of last year from Argentine club Independiente, shortly after playing a pivotal role in their Copa Sudamericana success over Flamengo.
Tagliafico, who has cemented his position in the Argentina team since his move to Ajax, has excelled during his first full season in Europe, providing four assists in the Eredivisie and scoring three times in the Champions League.
Much of Ajax’s attacking impetus from deep has come from their left side with Tagliafico’s energy and crossing ability from out wide becoming a key weapon in their armoury.
A number of Premier League clubs including Arsenal are on the lookout for a new left-back and Tagliafico is said to be interested in moving to a bigger league.
Donny Van De Beek
Age: 22
Position: Centre Midfield
Clubs he’d suit: Arsenal, Tottenham
With De Jong and De Ligt hogging the limelight, very little has been said about Donny Van De Beek’s influence on this Ajax side, yet the 22-year-old has been vital to their Champions League progression, even popping up with the crucial equaliser against Juventus in Turin.
Typically as an Ajax academy graduate, Van De Beek is a tactically savvy midfield player, excelling both in a deep-lying playmaker position as a No.6 as well as in a more box-to-box role as a No.8 this season. As Ajax’s Champions League run has progressed, he has become a greater influence in the final third.
Returns of eight goals and nine assists in the Eredivisie this season highlight his quality further up the pitch, while he is also an excellent probing passer of the ball, often playing riskier passes forward to try and force the issue.
Van De Beek has been linked with Spurs in the past and considering their current issues in central midfield it would make sense for them to reignite their interest and bolster their former Ajax contingent.
Andre Onana
Age: 23
Position: Goalkeeper
Club’s he’d suit: Tottenham, Manchester United
Of the top-six clubs, four have signed new first-choice goalkeepers in the past couple of years with Ederson, Alisson, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Bernd Leno all making the move to the Premier League. That quartet all fit the modern goalkeeper prototype of being agile and able to play out from the back.
Andre Onana is cut from the same cloth having caught the eye with his passing qualities and sweep-up play as much as his shot-stopping abilities since breaking into Ajax’s first-team midway through the 2016-17 season.
The Cameroon international had spent much of his youth career at Barcelona’s La Masia academy prior to joining Ajax in 2015 and has admitted that it would be a ‘dream’ to return to Camp Nou one day.
With Hugo Lloris enduring an indifferent campaign with Spurs and speculation continuing to surround the future of Manchester United’s David De Gea, Onana should feature prominently on both clubs shortlists for a new goalkeeper.
