Schreuder started at Ajax, but no teambuilding issue yet

Coach Alfred Schreuder joined Ajax today. But anyone who thinks he can immediately start building a team is wrong. International players are on holiday until the beginning of July and there is also a lot of uncertainty with regard to the election.

There is therefore work to be done for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Gerry Hamstra. Those are the three main goals of the technical duo this transfer summer.

1. Sales Stamp

Marc Overmars stated last summer that the financing of Ajax had to be supplemented. The former head of football affairs wanted to sell it for at least fifty million euros to compensate for the loss of income due to the corona.

There have been no major transfers, so Ajax will be looking for some money this summer. Ryan Gravenberch has already been sold to Bayern Munich for up to 24.5 million euros with bonuses.

Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich), Andre Onana (Inter), Danilo (Feyenoord) and Zakaria Labyad (no club yet) have been transferred for free and Nicolás Tagliafico, who really hopes to leave this season, can leave Ajax for a small amount. †

Huntelaar and Hamstra are therefore looking for an extra move this summer in addition to the auction in Gravenberch. The sale of Sébastien Haller, last season’s top scorer and the striker who excelled in the Champions League with eleven goals at the highest level, is now ending.

The Amsterdam team will receive 31 million euros for Haller, this amount can rise to 35 million euros with bonuses. Haller is expected to undergo a health check on Thursday, thereby fulfilling the requested major transfer.

2. Supplements

Where Ajax already took over Steven Berghuis after all the acquisitions last season, it is now very quiet in Amsterdam. This will change. With the money from Sebastien Haller and the earlier transfer fee from Ryan Gravenberch, Ajax has the money to enter the market.

It is now up to Huntelaar and Hamstra (H2 for short) to show that they are worthy successors to the late Overmars, known for their strong commercial spirit. The new technical staff will have the opportunity to prove themselves to the management this summer.

With the appointment of Alfred Schreuder (and his successor, the German assistant Matthias Kaltenbach) the first act of H2 quickly came to an end. But the next purchase is still waiting.

Top candidates? Steven Bergwijn and Brian Brobbey. Ajax wanted to bring Bergwijn back from Tottenham Hotspur last winter, but the clubs were not ready at the time. Clubs are also in talks, because Ajax is ready to really go for the front wing this time.

In addition to Bergwijn, Brobbey works at Ajax. The talented striker is a bitter file as he transferred from Ajax to RB Leipzig a year ago without a transfer.

But Ajax wants to reunite the attacker after six months of successful loan spells and will have to spend a lot of money on it. The Germans want fifteen million for Brobbey.

In addition to the two strikers, Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta) and Owen Wijndal (AZ) are also important transfer targets. The latter said on Tuesday that he “let everything calm down”.

3. Preserve Elemental Strengths

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Huntelaar and Hamstra is to keep the team together. Or at least as much as possible. After the success of the group stage of the Champions League, a number of players clearly represent the interests of Europe’s top clubs.

For example, Ajax does not intend to let Jurriën Timber, Lisandro Martínez and Antony go. Last season’s stars may only leave Amsterdam for the main prize.

The team from Amsterdam also want to keep Edson Álvarez in the squad, but the need is slightly less there than with the three mentioned above. Like Haller, the Mexican can leave for a nice amount.

It is hoped that the election will take shape soon, so that Schreuder can best handle the difficult task of replacing Erik ten Hag. One thing is certain: it will be a busy summer in Amsterdam.