As we all know, the summer transfer window in the Netherlands stayed open slightly longer than in other countries such as England.
We wrote an article covering the summer moves before the Netherlands window had closed due to scheduling issues.
A last-gasp move for a key player, and criticism
There was a big move for a key player at Ajax. Netherlands international winger Steven Bergwijn joined Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ittihad for a fee in the region of €21.00m. The former Tottenham star has signed a three-year deal with his new employers.
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The move went down particularly badly with the Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman, who stated that Bergwijn would never play for the Oranje under his leadership after the transfer.
The former Barcelona boss is quoted as saying: “The book is basically closed to him. He knows what I think about this,”
“When you are 26, your main ambition should be sporting, not financial. These are choices that players make.”
However, Bergwijn hit back via an interview with De Telegraaf by saying: I don’t even want to play under Koeman anymore,”
“I won’t play for someone who portrays me like he has done in the media. He could have called me heard my side of the story. How can he say such things without talking to me?
“If he had been a committed national coach, he would have called me first. Now I had to hear about it on TV. I’ve had many beautiful moments with him, so this is far too easy, and I’m disappointed with him.”
In reality, it is not Koeman’s place to judge the winger on what moves he makes. The move was undoubtedly financially motivated, but a football player’s career is short, and they need to capitalise on the financial rewards on offer when they can. This is not palatable to football fans or, apparently, the Oranje head coach, but it’s the truth.
The irony of the situation is that Koeman gave Bergwijn his international debut in 2018 when he was in his first stint as Netherlands head coach.
It’s not the first time Koeman has been outspoken about a player with links to Ajax. As early in his reign as Netherlands boss, he questioned the technical skills of striker Brian Brobbey.
Bergwijn is a genuine loss to Ajax on the pitch
The Netherlands boss may have questioned the move, but Ajax fans should also question it, as their team has just lost one of their best performers from the 2023/24 campaign.
It was a terrible campaign. However, Bergwijn was one of the few outfield players who came out of the season with any credit. The 26-year-old scored 12 goals and produced four assists in 23 Eredivisie appearances.
His numbers were not off the scale, but considering how poorly the team performed over the campaign, they were respectable. Throughout his career, Bergwijn has been a player with big potential, but arguably, he hasn’t quite fulfilled it.
Despite a spell at Premier League Tottenham Hotspur, his best form has come when he has been plying his trade in the Eredivisie, first with PSV Eindhoven and then with Ajax.
Bergwijn had only made one substitute appearance for Ajax this season in the Eredivisie, which was not exactly inspiring. He also made five appearances in the Europa League, scoring once, but his performances were mixed in those outings.
Maybe there were talks behind the scenes over a move, which would have understandably distracted the winger.
The club from the Netherlands capital attempted to replace Bergwijn with Southampton’s young winger Kamaldeen Sulemana. However, a loan move for the 22-year-old collapsed at the last minute.
Sulemana hasn’t been a raging success with the Saints, scoring just two goals in his 44 appearances in all competitions. However, only 21 of those appearances were starts. The youngster was looking for a move this summer in an attempt to kick-start his career.
The failure to capture Sulemana, coupled with the sale of both Bergwijn and also Carlos Forbs this summer, has left them short on left-wingers, which could be an issue for head coach Francesco Farioli further into the season.
Is the Ajax squad in a better place after the summer transfer window?
After last season’s debacle of an Eredivisie campaign, there were always going to be significant changes in the playing squad this summer. Some player’s exits were likely to be beneficial for the team.
However, before the summer, Bergwijn would have been one of the last players that Ajax would have wanted to sell. The fee wasn’t a terrible one for the Amsterdam giants, and Bergwijn would have been unsettled if he wasn’t allowed to make the move this summer.
Overall, it seems that arguably Ajax have a weaker squad than last season. However, the signing of Wout Weghorst could be a shrewd one.
The team have made a mixed start to the campaign in the Eredivisie, winning one and losing one of their league games so far. However, they have impressed overall with some good results in the Europa League.
The new Ajax head coach, Francesco Farioli, has made a promising start to his time in the capital of Amsterdam. The Italian boss has been saying and doing the right things so far.
However, losing players the quality of Bergwijn isn’t going to help Farioli’s chances of success. Only time will tell if Ajax can be successful. Hopefully, the loss of Bergwijn will not have a significant impact on Ajax’s season overall.