Ajax to cash in as Europe’s giants target their prized assets

Amsterdam (AFP) – Clever recruitment allied with a successful youth academy has turned Ajax into a European force again as they prepare to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

They may not be able to maintain this level of success as richer teams circle like vultures around their prized assets, but the Amsterdam club do look certain to hit the jackpot financially.

Using figures from specialist website Transfermarkt, the Ajax squad’s combined value is some 420 million euros ($469 million), significantly greater than the club’s budget.

So could we be about to see a situation similar to that of Monaco two years ago, when they won the French title and reached the Champions League semi-finals before cashing in? 

Monaco raised around 350 million euros in 2017, including the 180 million-euro deal to sell Kylian Mbappe to Paris Saint-Germain.

Ajax know what might be coming after a season in which they could still win a domestic double.

“You want to keep your best players and develop yourself but we want to develop and scout, build in our academy,” Edwin van der Sar, former Ajax goalkeeper and now club CEO, told AFP in a recent interview.

“If they get attraction from big clubs when you play well in the Champions League, we know there are bigger clubs than us.”

AFP Sport takes a look at the biggest assets in Erik ten Hag’s squad who may well be starring abroad next season:

– De Ligt: The diamond in defence –

Matthijs de Ligt is a pure product of the Ajax academy, having joined aged nine. He has gone on to become the club’s youngest ever captain aged 19 and it was he who scored the winner against Juventus in the quarter-finals.

The classy Dutch international has plenty of suitors, with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG all linked with a move. They will need to pay in the region of 70 million euros, at least, to get their man.

Behind him, Cameroon international Andre Onana, who was at the Barcelona academy, has attracted interest from abroad too. The 23-year-old recently extended his contract until 2022, though, and it would take a big bid to persuade Ajax to sell.

Left-back Nicolas Tagliafico, an Argentine international, has been linked to Arsenal and Ajax would hope to rake in up to 25 million euros for a player they signed in January last year.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2VFsKTO