Ajax have moved to address a problem position by bringing in versatile left-sided star Caio Henrique from Monaco for around €10m, potentially rising to €14m with add-ons. The 28-year-old has signed a five-year deal with the Amsterdammers.
A player of high pedigree
Henrique is a player of high pedigree, who has spent the last six seasons in the French Ligue One with Monaco. During his time in the principality, the Brazilian international has made 210 appearances and has been a regular in their starting line-up for much of that period.
His professional football career started in Atletico Madrid’s youth system, who he joined from his hometown club Santos. He never featured for Los Colchoneros in La Liga, with his only appearance for the Spanish club coming in the Copa del Rey.
Before joining Monaco in a permanent deal in 2020, Henrique had loan spells back in his homeland with Parana, Fluminense and Gremio.
Ajax looking to rebuild
Various media reports suggest that the signing of Caio Henrique is just the start of a massive squad rebuild at the capital club. Reports suggest that up to 21 players could be sold this summer, as Ajax looks to revamp its entire squad.
The club’s technical director Jordi Cruyff is believed to be looking to sell the majority of the first-team squad in an effort to finance deals to bring in 10-15 new recruits to build a more competitive team and squad for the 2026/27 season.
The club have already offloaded Wout Weghorst, Chuba Akpom, Sivert Mannsverk, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu. The number of departures from the Amsterdam club is likely to grow in the next few weeks and months, even if they do not manage to sell all 21 players.
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Improvement is certainly needed on last season that’s for sure. Ajax finished an underwhelming fifth place in the Eredivisie last season, only scraping into the Europa Conference League courtesy of a play-off victory over FC Utrecht.
Ajax need to do similar deals
Henrique’s signing looks a shrewd one, as they have signed a player in his prime who can play as a left-back, centre-back or even as a central midfielder.
With the club trying to rebuild after an underwhelming campaign in the Eredivisie, versatile players could save on splashing out in other positions.
On paper, it seems a sensible move. The Dutch giants will need to do similar deals this summer if they are going to return to the top of the Dutch footballing tree in the near future.