The 2024 transfer window was slightly quieter than usual for Ajax. However, there was movement, both in and out of the Dutch club. Here are the most significant moves involving the Amsterdam giants:
Who arrived in the Dutch capital?
The biggest arrival, in more ways than one, at Ajax this summer was Netherlands’ international Wout Weghorst, who joined for a fee of €2.38m from English Championship outfit Burnley.
The 32-year-old had been linked with the club for much of the summer. The giant striker has enjoyed mixed fortunes lately but has proven over the years for clubs and country that he knows how to find the net.
His most prolific spell was with German outfit Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, where he scored 70 goals and produced 22 assists in 147 appearances.
He may no longer be in the prime of his career, but he could still prove to be a shrewd signing for Amsterdammers.
Another addition to the Ajax attack is winger Bertrand Traore. The 28-year-old winger returned to the club for a second spell, joining on a free transfer from Spanish club Villarreal.
Traore has enjoyed a slightly underwhelming career, having looked like an outstanding prospect in his early years at Chelsea. He spent a short period in Amsterdam with Ajax on loan in the early stages of his career.
Since then, he has had a number of clubs, which hasn’t quite worked out for him. That is likely the main reason for his availability on a free transfer in the summer.
He has made a decent start at Ajax, scoring one goal and producing one assist in his five appearances so far for the club.
Ajax’s only other signing of the summer was another experienced player, the Italian defender Daniel Rugani. The 30-year-old centre-back joined Ajax from Italian giants Juventus on a season-long loan deal.
Rugani has struggled to ever really nail down a starting role with the Bianconeri at any point in his career. He has also had loan spells at Rennes and Cagliari.
The experienced Italian international joined Ajax on 24th August and has made one appearance so far this season.
The club were also linked with several other players this summer, including Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who eventually joined Southampton.
Another English player mooted as a possible target for the Dutch giants was Everton’s versatile defender Mason Holgate. However, the former Barnsley defender joined Championship outfit West Brom on transfer deadline day.
Who left the club?
There were far more exits from Ajax than arrivals this summer. In terms of transfer fees received, Georgian international forward Georges Mikautadze was the biggest, as he joined Metz for a reported fee of around €13m.
Mikautadze only joined Ajax last summer from Metz for €16m. However, he struggled to settle in Amsterdam and rejoined his forward club in January, with the option of completing a permanent move in the summer, which they took up.
He thrived back at his old club and impressed playing for his country at Euro2024. He has since moved to Lyon for a fee of €18.5m.
Young Portuguese winger Francisco Conceicao has joined Mikautadze in exiting the club this summer, returning to former club Porto for a fee of around €10.5m.
He returned to Porto last summer on loan, and his deal was made permanent this summer. Like Mikautadze, Conceicao has also moved on again this summer, joining Italian giants Juventus, with the Italian giants reportedly paying a loan fee of around €7m.
Goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli has joined Marseille for €4m. The Argentinian international had made 32 appearances for Ajax, having joined the Dutch giants in the winter transfer window of 2023.
Mexican international Jorge Sanchez has returned to his homeland to play for Cruz Azul in a deal worth around €3m. The right-back joined Ajax in 2022 from CF America but spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Portuguese club Porto.
Young academy product Silvano Vos finally completed a protracted switch to Italian giants Milan in a deal that cost the Rossoneri €3m.
Another promising young player, Carlos Forbs, has also departed, joining Premier League outfit Wolves in an initial loan deal, with a view to a permanent move worth €13.5m in the summer of 2025.
Ajax had paid €14m to sign the highly-rated youngster from Manchester City in the summer of 2023. Arguably, Ajax fans didn’t really get to see the best of the youngster, who scored three goals and produced five assists in 38 appearances in all competitions.
Croatian full-back Borna Sosa, who only joined last summer from German outfit Stuttgart, has also left on loan, joining Torino until the summer of 2025.
Youngster Naci Unuvar will be looking to prove himself with Espanyol after completing a season-long loan deal.
The 21-year-old has made just three senior appearances for Ajax, having spent the 2023/24 season on loan at FC Twente. He will be hoping that a move to Spain will ignite his career, and that he can build on some promising displays last season.
The last of the exits was Croatian defender Jakov Medic, who joined Bochum on a season-long loan deal. Medic made just nine appearances in the Eredivisie last season after a 2023 move from St. Pauli.
Was the summer a successful one for Ajax in the transfer market?
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It is hard to judge whether Ajax has enjoyed a successful transfer window until the end of the season. Many of the players who have exited only arrived in recent transfer windows and were unsuccessful signings.
The club have taken a more cautious approach in their signings this summer, laying out very little money but recouping some of the money spent last summer in a largely unsuccessful splurge on players.
The signing of Weghorst, in particular, could prove to be a shrewd one. He is a proven goalscorer who will weigh in with his fair share of goals this season. Even if he only starts games as a substitute, he can have an effect from the bench, as he has shown time and time again for the national team.
The biggest issue this summer was regrouping, and the new head coach, Francesco Farioli, is getting to work on rebuilding the shattered confidence of the Ajax squad.
The Italian has made a decent start, and hopefully, the team can be challenging at the top end of the Eredivisie this season rather than being also-rans like last season.