Ajax kicked off their Eredivisie campaign on Sunday with a 1-0 home win over Heerenveen at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
A goal from Icelandic youngster Kristian Hlynsson was enough to see off the visitors on former Feyenoord favourite Robin van Persie’s Eredivisie debut in the Heerenveen dugout.
A solid start to the campaign
The opening weekend victory means that Ajax have made a bright start to life under new head coach Francesco Farioli. The game was relatively even, and even though it was not the best performance, it was a solid start to the team’s domestic league campaign.
The victory was also Ajax’s fourth straight win in all competitions and also their third clean sheet in four outings, having conceded just once.
The Dutch giants recorded back-to-back victories over Vojvodina in the Europa League second qualifying round, having won 1-0 and 3-1, respectively, in the two legs of the tie.
In the first leg of the third qualifying round of the same competition, the Dutch giants recorded a 1-0 win at Panathinaikos, with veteran winger Steven Berghuis scoring the possibly crucial goal.
The second leg of the tie is on Thursday night at the Johan Cruyff Arena, with the Dutch giants favourites to make it through to the play-off round. It would be highly disappointing if Ajax didn’t now qualify for the group stages of the Europa League.
Making it through to the group stages of the competition is considered a bare minimum for Ajax, especially after last season’s disastrous campaign.
Going deep into the competition would be considered a decent campaign. However, there are likely to be many quality teams in the Europa League this season, even more so when teams drop out of the Champions League into the competition.
A vast improvement on last season’s start
Francesco Farioli’s appointment as Ajax’s boss was a gamble, as he is a young coach, and Ajax is a massive club compared to his former employers. However, the Italian had impressed with his performance as the Nice head coach.
The early signs for Farioli’s management at the Dutch club are positive. Ajax has started the current campaign in a far better fashion than last season, when the team was awful for much of the opening few months.
The team will be taking it one game at a time. However, the atmosphere at the club seems far improved from last term, and there is optimism about the team experiencing a far better campaign in season 2024/25.
Only time will tell whether a challenge for the Eredivisie title is possible. Given the club’s size, Ajax should have high expectations, as they are the most successful club in the Dutch game.
Some fans will always expect the team to challenge for the title in the Netherlands, no matter what the condition of the team.
Loan bid rejected for Ramsdale
It hasn’t been the busiest of summers when it comes to transfers in and out of Ajax. However, despite the Eredivisie already starting, the club are reportedly still in the market to strengthen their squad.
According to various newspaper reports, including the Daily Express, Ajax has seen a loan bid for Arsenal and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale rejected.
The former Sheffield United stopper lost his position as number one at Arsenal last season to Spanish star David Raya. He struggled for appearances for the Gunners, as Raya kept the most clean sheets in the Premier League, keeping a respectable 14 clean sheets.
When it comes to international football, he is also well behind first-choice England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the pecking order. At 26, he needs to be playing first-team football and can’t afford to sit on the substitutes bench in north London for too long.
He has also been linked with a move to Arsenal’s Premier League rivals, Wolves. Reportedly, the Gunners are not opposed to Ramsdale leaving the club, but they are looking to move him on permanently this summer.
Arsenal bought the former Bournemouth stopper for a fee of around £30m from Sheffield United in 2021. They will be looking to recoup as much of that fee as possible if he is sold permanently this summer.
Ajax’s interest in Ramsdale is likely due to the club’s recent sale of Argentinian international goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli to Marseille.
However, the Dutch giants still have Diant Ramaj, Jay Gorter, and Remko Pasveer available to play in goal. Veteran Pasveer started the Eredivisie opener against Heerenveen.
Ramaj made the most appearances of all three of the club’s current goalkeepers last season, though, featuring on 20 occasions. The German may yet still be the first choice for the majority of the season.
Are you happy with Ajax’s start to the 2024/25 season?