When it comes to football clubs and the moves that they make over players, the one thing that supporters don’t often think about is the financial situation of the clubs involved. There is no way that Ajax would want to bid goodbye to as many players as they have had to this summer, but the club’s finances are such that giving the go-ahead for the sale of certain footballers is the only way that they can survive, as well as look to strengthen the squad that John Heitinga has available to him.
That is the reason the sale of Jorrel Hato looks likely, even whilst the hierarchy is torn over what to do.
Where We’re Up To
We have written in the past about the interest that the Premier League club Chelsea have shown in Jorrel Hato, the Ajax left-sided defender. Now it seems as though the London side is confident of getting a deal done in the next few days, even though those at the top of the hierarchy in Amsterdam are far from happy about giving the sale their approval.
It is clear that de Godenzonen are more than aware of Chelsea’s interest in Hato, with reports suggesting that the 19-year-old has already agreed personal terms to make his move to Stamford Bridge if a price can be agreed upon.
The issue is that those responsible for giving the sale their approval are torn over how much money they can expect to take off the Premier League side in exchange for the player’s signature. The Dutch giants had been holding out for a fee of around €60 million from the Blues, but now it looks as though some in the ranks at the Johan Cruyff ArenA believe that they should take a lower amount in order to get the sale complete and put the club’s finances on a healthier track before the transfer window closes. The feeling is that if the player wants to go, there is no point in holding on to him.
Ajax’s Finances Are an Issue
It is fair to say that all has not been well in Amsterdam since the departure of Erik Ten Hag to join Manchester United. The Dutchman left the club at the end of the title-winning 2021-2022 season, failing to impress at Old Trafford and being given his marching orders not long into the 2024-2025 campaign.
They have since gone through numerous managerial changes, which have all cost money to release people from their roles. Their finances have suffered in other ways, having brought home no silverware and associated prize money since that Eredivisie title under Ten Hag.
If/when Jorrel Hato joins Chelsea, he’ll become the 11th defender the club have signed in the last three years 😮
No club has spent more money on defenders in that time than the Stamford Bridge club 👀 pic.twitter.com/SIiqTAl1Ew
— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) July 30, 2025
The result of that is that they went from seeing a pre-tax profit of €55 million to a €13 million loss in the 2023-2024 accounting period. That is a deterioration of €68 million, which was only partially offset by the reduction in operating costs.
Although things will be slightly better next season on account of the club’s return to the Champions League, the financially perilous position that they find themselves in has meant numerous changes to the squad during the summer break. John Heitinga is doing the best that he can, but losing Hato as well certainly won’t help anything.
Why Hato is so Sought After
You might well read that Jorrel Hato is only a 19-year-old and imagine that the player is relatively inexperienced. Whilst it would be untrue to say that he has been non-stop playing for de Godenzonen since he broke into the team, it is also the case that he has played more than 100 times in all competitions and has scored four goals, notching up nine assists.
When you consider that he is known to be an intelligent player on the ball and calm in possession, you can see why he might appeal to a club that is looking to return to challenging for the title after a few years in the wilderness.
Chelsea won the Club World Cup this summer. Whilst that might not be all that impressive to some people, the reality is that it saw the London side take home a decent amount in prize money. Ajax are now weighing up whether to push to get a bigger slice of that pie, risking the Premier League team walking away altogether, or else accepting a lower fee in order to put themselves back on track in a financial sense.
Hato has the ability to play as a left-back or a left-sided centre-back, meaning that the Blues can use him as cover in a number of departments if they can get the move over the line.