Ajax Amsterdam, the overall most successful club in the Netherlands and straight-up one of the most popular in the entire worldโs history, particularly during the 20th century, might find itself in trouble after some of its most recent player departures, which have left the team with rather massive holes to fill, and few opportunities to do so. After all, players are the core of any team.
The Departed
The two main departures that have placed the Sons of the Gods in such a predicament are those that were signed by The Red Devils: Anthony Matheus and Lisandro Martinez. The Argentinian defender first seemed to have been approached by Arsenal, yet, in the end, Man United got him, mostly seeking to reinforce their somewhat weak back line; therefore it means that Ajax lost a pretty good defender. On the other hand, the Brazilian forward made 25 goals in 85 appearances for his previous team, thus guaranteeing Man Utdโs got complete its already pretty strong attack line.ย
Ajax surely wasnโt so lucky with these transfers, for they lost two members which were quite necessary for a time when the team needed to remain united. It could be said that some of their players did go โunitedโ just not in a way they had expected, especially given that one of the big reasons for these departures was ex-Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, who is the current massively respected Red Devilโs manager.ย
Proof of this is what Matheus said right after joining up with his new team โPlaying under Erik ten Hag at Ajax was perfect for me and my development. His style of football and coaching brings out the best in me, and I am excited by what he has told me about his plans and ambitions in Manchester.โย
The other side of the coin
Gerry Hamstra, Lucky Ajax’s current head coach said โManchester Unitedโs timing was so bad […] The last few days [of the transfer window] became even more hectic after Ajax had already gone through a major rebuild of the squad following the departure of lots of top-class players.โ Itโs not only bad timing, the anger also comes from the indirect jab the leadership has seen, at the fact that players are leaving due to their preference for a previous managerโs charisma.ย
Although, in terms of money, it has been a very profitable time for the club, as for just the two players that went on to Man United they made a whopping 131.5 million pounds, simply from the release fees. However, in terms of teamwork, it has created quite a big gap left to be filled; and new team members such as Steven Bergwijn and Calvin Bassey still need to adjust; it’s hard because it all happened with the Champions League right around the corner, and now it’s right on top of them, leaving them with little time to prepare.
Hamstra also said โI understand Schreuderโs anger, very much so. I have been a manager myself, so I know how annoying it is when your best player leaves at the very last minute […] We did not want this, we wanted to keep Antony.โ
In any case, now the teamโs leadership has to figure out a way to make their most recent additions perform to their expected levels, whilst also patching as best as they can the holes in their formation.ย
No easy task given how good of a player Matheus is, and how much an athlete like him represented to the club.ย
