FRIDAY FIVE: Milestones to watch for this season

Look, I get it.

Fall is in it’s infant stages and this already feels like a lost season. I don’t need to go over it all with you again, but we know the events that transpired over the course of the summer and they are flat out depressing. Every time you think it couldn’t get worse, it most certainly did. And now here we are, October is starting, Ajax are long gone from Europe and sit seventh in the Eredivisie through six matches. It is appalling and concerning. What do we have to look forward to this season?

Well, let me tell you. Here are five milestones that will, in all likelihood, be reached this season worth celebrating.

1. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar needs seven goals to surpass Luis Suarez for 13th on Ajax’s all-time scorers list.

The Hunter we have come to know and love has 105 goals for the Amsterdammers, with El Pistolero sitting at 111. With 28 matches left in the Eredivisie season, and an undetermined amount in the KNVB Cup, it’s entirely possibly that Huntelaar reaches that mark. Next up on the list are Rinus Michels (120) and Dennis Bergkamp (121), meaning KJ would need 16 and 17 goals, respectively, to pass them – certainly a much taller order.

Footnote: Huntelaar has 98 career-Eredivisie appearances for Ajax, needing two more to reach 100.

2. Siem de Jong needs to make 21 appearances to move into the top 30 for Ajax all-time.

Sitting at 245 career appearances for the Amsterdammers, De Jong is 35th on the list. He needs 21 more over the course of the next eight months to crack the top 30, passing Urby Emanuelson (255), Jari Litmanen (255), Rinus Michels (260), Piet Ouderland (261) and Wim Volkers (265). The only thing that can keep him from reaching this milestone are his injury woes. If he can stay healthy, he should get there.

Siem de Jong’s 245 apps are third-best for Ajax since 2000. He needs 11 more to pass Urby Emanuelson for second-most since the turn of the century, but the leader, Maarten Stekelenburg (282), is out of reach.

3. Lasse Schone needs to goals to reach 50 for Ajax.

He has 48 goals, currently, making this more than an attainable milestone. He is the second-highest Danish scorer in Ajax history, behind Soren Lerby (66).

4. Joel Veltman needs to appear in 23 matches over the rest of the season to become the 55th player in Ajax history to reach 200.

He has 177 currently, and the odds are in his favour to make another 23 this season. He has likely a couple of games in the KNVB Cup, plus another 28 in the league to help him reach this mark.

5. Amin Younes needs eight more appearances to join Ajax’s Club van 100.

With 92 Ajax appearances across all competitions, Younes is on the verge of joining the exclusive Ajax Club van 100. In doing so, he would become the third German-born player to appear in 100 matches for the club, after Horst Blankenburg (188) and Werner Schaaphok (193).