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Ajax is a football club famous for producing top-quality young players. Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten came through the youth system at the Amsterdam club.
While Ajax graduates have left the club, the current set-up is full of players who wish to follow in their footsteps. Here are just a few of those players:
Jorrel Hato
The defender, who was born in Rotterdam, is regarded as one of the brightest young defenders in the world game. At just 18 years of age, he is just shy of his century of appearances for the Amsterdammers.
Hato has already been linked with big-money moves to Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Chelsea. Thankfully, for now, he is still an Ajax player, but his ceiling of potential is so high that he may not be for long.
Kenneth Taylor
Taylor is another academy graduate who has turned into a key player in the Ajax first-team. The midfielder made his senior debut in season 2020/21 and has only gone from strength to strength.
At 22, Taylor has made close to 150 appearances for the club, scoring 29 goals. His performances for Ajax have seen him capped by the Netherlands on four occasions.
In season 2024/25, Taylor has already scored ten goals in all competitions, having produced six assists. He has been a key player in the Dutch giant’s resurgence.
Charlie Setford
Although he has yet to make a first-team appearance for Ajax, Setford is regarded as one of the brightest prospects at the club. The 20-year-old was born in nearby Haarlem but has pledged his allegiance to England in the international game due to his English dad.
Setford has already seen his young brother, Tommy (also a goalkeeper) move to Arsenal. In the future, the pair could be battling it out to be England’s number-one goalkeeper.
By then, Setford will be hoping to be Ajax’s first-choice ‘keeper, having made 38 appearances for Ajax Jong. However, he has appeared on the bench for the Dutch giants in recent seasons.
Mika Godts
The highly-rated young Belgian started his youth career with the Genk reserve team before moving to Ajax Jong in 2023. The Amsterdam club reportedly paid a fee of around € 1 million with a sell-on clause.
The 19-year-old has made 50 appearances for Ajax’s first team, scoring seven goals. His style of play has earned Godts comparisons with compatriot Eden Hazard.
Hopefully, for Ajax’s sake, he will reach those levels in the future. For now, his progress is steady, and the Dutch giants will be content with his contribution in season 2024/25 so far.
Nassef Chourak
The 20-year-old midfielder arrived in Amsterdam in 2018, having spent time in the youth ranks at Sparta Rotterdam and ADO Den Haag. In 2023/24, Chourak became a regular in Ajax Jong, making 33 appearances.
The midfielder signed a new deal with the Amsterdam club in the summer of 2024. Unfortunately, the player of Moroccan descent has made just two appearances for Ajax Jong in season 2024/25. Hopefully, he will play more games for Ajax Jong and eventually break into the first team.
Rayane Bounida
The 18-year-old could be described as a ‘Wonderkid’. He arrived from Anderlecht in 2022 and is fast establishing himself as an up-and-coming attacking midfielder.
Even before he arrived at Ajax, Bounida already had a deal with Nike before his 16th birthday and had 420,000 followers on his Instagram.
He has made a promising start to his Ajax Jong career, scoring four times in five appearances in the Eerste Divisie, the Dutch second tier.
Bounida has represented Belgium at every level up to under-19 level. H is expected to be a star of the future at club and international levels, even if he has yet to make his first-team debut.
Diyae Jermoumi
Like Ajax Jong teammate Nassef Chourak, the right-back was born in the Netherlands but is of Moroccan descent. The right-back started his youth career at LVV Lugdunam and Sparta Rotterdam before a move to Ajax in 2019.
Jermoumi has been in and out of the Ajax Jong team since season 2021/22 but has made 34 appearances for the team in the Eerste Divisie. He will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the past Ajax youngsters into the club’s first team.