New Players for Ajax

[Orange14]

Here is Jari Litmanen's goal in 2010. I wish our strikers were as good at any age:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDQqneC6AkE&

[King Litti]

there's a YouTube video of him scoring on a bicycle kick in the Norway league when he was 37 or so and he was also on their NT for a very long time).

This was in the Finnish league (he never played in Norway). In the bicycle kick clip he plays for FC Lahti from his hometown. They got relegated then and Jari moved to play for my hometown team HJK. This was not liked by the FC Lahti fans, because there is some rivalry between the fans so they soiled the Litmanen statue in Lahti (those bastards)! Here's Jari scoring another beauty in the cup final for HJK in 2011:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVBIF_vHgEY

He really played for a long time despite being very injury prone. That's how much he loves football.

[SPL]

Jari an absolute great.

Janssen could have joined us for next to nothing last summer from Almere but FDB wasn't sure he would score goals in the Eredivisie!! Overmars came up with Sanogo ,one of the worst players ever to wear our shirt.

[Cruijff]

Janssen could have joined us for next to nothing last summer from Almere but FDB wasn't sure he would score goals in the Eredivisie!!

Well, nobody could expect Janssen to get such a great run with so many goals.
If contracted by Ajax, Frank de Boer would probably not even placed him in the line-up.

The first 5 months he didn't score that much, AZ Alkmaar had the plan to use Mounir El Hamdaoui, do we still remember him as a striker.

Luckily for AZ El Ham went to the desert for the big money, because without him the team was much better than with him. And suddenly in December 2015 / January 2016 Janssen started scoring and scoring and scoring now tonight again in the friendly Austria-Holland the first goal of the match.

[rjf1]

... I wonder if Nigel de Jong would ever consider returning, he is only 31.

The day that Ajax signs that thug is the day I stop rooting for them -- and I have been rooting for them since 1964.

[Orange14]

Janssen is great at holding up the ball unlike any striker we have had since Huntelaar left. He's clinical in front of the goal, doesn't miss the easy shots and handles the difficult ones as well. Sure he was overlooked a couple of years ago but he is now the real thing. If AZ will take €12M, we should buy him (I suspect a big club might offer more than that). PSV have both de Jong and Locadia and I don't think they need Janssen. No other Dutch club has the money to buy him.

[Ayman]

Janssen is great at holding up the ball unlike any striker we have had since Huntelaar left. He's clinical in front of the goal, doesn't miss the easy shots and handles the difficult ones as well. Sure he was overlooked a couple of years ago but he is now the real thing. If AZ will take €12M, we should buy him (I suspect a big club might offer more than that). PSV have both de Jong and Locadia and I don't think they need Janssen. No other Dutch club has the money to buy him.

Peter Bosz/Marc Overmars aren't interested in signing him, its safe to say that Vincent Janssen will play in either England, Italy or Spain.

... I wonder if Nigel de Jong would ever consider returning, he is only 31.

The day that Ajax signs that thug is the day I stop rooting for them -- and I have been rooting for them since 1964.

That's a bit harsh! He only did it once, at a major tournament in the final. Zidane also did the same thing 4 years earlier, not to mention previous years before that.

[Amol]

I know its early in the transfer season, but I'm wondering if all you folks are as worried as me by the lack on any transfer activity at Ajax. I am going to all the Ajax sites I know of (ajaxshowtime, ajax.netwerk, ajaxlife) every other hour and the lack of news is driving me nuts.

Rumours of Haller going to Germany, Janssen going to Tottenham and Huntelaar potentially staying back at Schalke are not making me real happy right now. Also this is based on the assumption that Milik is leaving after the Euros.

[SPL]

Not too worried at present.June is usually quite for transfers and Bosz has not really taken over yet.

Biggest problem is who leaves as Cillessen,Veltman v dHoorn Bazoer,El Ghazi and Milik could all leave.V Rhijn Schone and Serero also likely to go and thats 9 out leaving us with 10 of last season's squad left .

Buying another striker would be one of many new players we would need.Being in CL qualifiers is a disaster as we cannot plan anything properly. Had we beaten de Graafschap we would be in the group stages and some of those listed above would not be looking to leave and buying players would be easier.

Ideally we need all those going to leave and new players in by the end of July and that wont happen.

[Amol]

Ideally we need all those going to leave and new players in by the end of July and that wont happen.

The 3rd round of CL qualifiers start on 26/27 July. So ideally we want to get new players in by the end of this month, so that we have them in the squad when the season preparations begin in the end of June.

[Ayman]

As long as Ajax can keep the nucleus of the team, bar Cillessen, who's departure is imminent. And Huntelaar returns soon. It should be ok.

[SPL]

Agree with you Ayman.

Tete, Riedewald,Dijks,Bazoer,Klaassen ElGhazi, Younes to stay.Hope Veltman and Milik also. That would be a great nucleus with Sinkgraven,v d Beek ,Nouri Cerny. 5 or 6 new players then needed.

[Orange14]

With Muric and Cerny coming into the first team next season I wonder if el Ghazi moves to #9? I've long felt that's his best position.

[Ayman]

I doubt El Ghazi or Milik will stay, but they are replaceable easily, Veltman however is indispensable.

[SPL]

Reports coming out that 19 year old Columbian striker Mateo Casierra is to sign for us for 5.5m euros on a 5 year contract. He will be no 2 striker behind Milik or a new striker which they suggest will be Huntelaar.

[Tom_]

Interesting. How did we find him, I wonder? I didn't even know Ajax was scouting in South America.

[Orange14]

I read that they had been scouting him for some time and that a number of other clubs were after him as well. Columbia have been producing some great young players lately.

[beelzebub]

Euhh it is Colombia guys. Columbia is somewhere in the US.

[SPL]

You Dutch guys never miss anything ,sorry for the spelling mistake .

Do any of you Dutch lads know anything about him ?

[Amol]

You Dutch guys never miss anything ,sorry for the spelling mistake .

Do any of you Dutch lads know anything about him ?

The Colombians hate being called Columbians. There was a social media campaign some years ago to educate people all over the world -
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240 ... 1490796654

I see the hand of the top scout we brought over from Groningen (can't remember his name) in this transfer.

[Amol]

....name of the new head scout who we brought over from Groningen is Henk Veldmate

[Orange14]

....name of the new head scout who we brought over from Groningen is Henk Veldmate

I wonder if he was the one who found Suarez.

[Amol]

....name of the new head scout who we brought over from Groningen is Henk Veldmate

I wonder if he was the one who found Suarez.

I read somewhere (not sure of the accuracy) that Veldmate and Nijland (Groningen General Director) went to see another player and were disappointed with him. They then decided to go watch another game later that day. In that game Nijland saw Suarez and 5 minutes later decided that he wanted Suarez.

Can someone confirm this story?

[Cruijff]

They indeed went to South America where one day earlier they've watched another match to see another player, but they make the story nicer than it is.

Groningen did pay more than 1 million euros for Suárez, what was in 2006 by far the highest transfer they've ever done. In the 2005/2006 season Suárez won the national title with Nacional and was rated as one of the most talented players in his country, so it's not that they've discovered a completely unknown talent.

[Amol]

They indeed went to South America where one day earlier they've watched another match to see another player, but they make the story nicer than it is.

Groningen did pay more than 1 million euros for Suárez, what was in 2006 by far the highest transfer they've ever done. In the 2005/2006 season Suárez won the national title with Nacional and was rated as one of the most talented players in his country, so it's not that they've discovered a completely unknown talent.

That does seem more realistic. Thanks for clearing that up.