If ever there was a statement of intent from Marc Overmars, football chief at Ajax, then it has been made with the recruitment of Daley Blind following the capture of Dusan Tadic and whilst on the subject of transfer movements why not visit our friends at bettingcode.co.uk for access to all the latest promo codes.
Blind, who is still only 28, has joined the Sons of the Gods for £15million from Manchester United, while Tadic has teamed up with the Amsterdam giants from Southampton.
The recruitment of such talent has impressed Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has recently extended his deal by a year, and who says there is a mood of positivity in the camp, boosted as well by other new faces arriving in the shape of Perr Schuurs, Zakaria Labyad and Hassane Bandé.
He said: “I think everyone sees that director of player policy Marc Overmars is very busy with purchases. Everyone sees that, and everyone feels that, the beauty is: everyone wants to be part of it, you see that positivism, everyone sees that fantastic work is being done.
“Everybody sees that signal If you sell Justin Kluivert for 17 million euros and you get back for 11 million euros Dusan Tadic, then you have made a good deal as a club We want to go full of it and I even think that boys consider leaving, now want to stay if there is no right club, you will see something emerge here at Ajax.”
One player who looks as if he will be on his way out of the club eventually is Hakim Ziyech. The Morocco ace is said to be a target for a number of high-profile clubs but as yet there is no definite news on his destination and he is currently back with his parent club.
And although he will probably be gone before too long, he still has an admiration for the club. He said: “I really enjoy being back at Ajax, it’s always fun to play football again, and I have not said goodbye to the club.
“I have expressed my wish, that is all I have done, I have not anticipated things, I will always give everything for Ajax, and if I am not away, I will just play the Champions League matches. I’m totally comfortable now, I’m here now and I’m focusing on Ajax, and we’ll give everything to win those matches. ”
Ajax, who are currently at a training camp in Birmingham ahead of pre-season friendly matches against Walsall and Wolves this week, have upcoming Champions League games. They play SK Sturm Graz in the first leg of their second qualifying round at home on July 25 before going to Austria for the second leg on August 1.
And Huntelaar says he is more than happy to be involved so early in the summer. He said: “I always find it very special that these important matches are so early in the season. You are working on your fitness, so we started earlier and ended up having had four weeks in total, and then it should be good, but it would be better if the qualifications for the European competitions would be directly after the season. then everyone is top fit, just like at a big final tournament.”
Meanwhile, Reading have snapped up Dutch defender Darren Sidoel, who is aged 20, from Ajax on a three-year deal. He helped Jong Ajax win the second division title in Holland last term. He has also made 16 appearances for his nation at U17 level and played for his club in the Uefa Youth League. Technical director Brian Tevreden said. “Darren’s a very promising young player whose progress we’ve been closely monitoring for quite some time now.”