Ajax enters its upcoming annual shareholder meeting with the oldest squad in the Eredivisie at an average age of 26.4 years, as reported by soccernews.nl.
That squad age contrasts sharply with rival clubs in the Dutch top flight. PSV maintains an average squad age of 25.1 years, while Feyenoord fields a younger group averaging 24.5 years, according to soccernews.nl.
The club recorded an operational loss of over eighteen million euros during the past financial year. Soccernews.nl reported that these financial strains intersect with a major squad overhaul directed by technical director Jordi Cruijff, who did not sit still during his first transfer window as technical director over the past summer and thoroughly shook up the squad of the Amsterdam club.
Het Parool noted in an analysis that the club’s traditional business model relies on developing homegrown talent and selling those players to foreign clubs for significant fees. Player sales involving former youth products Kenneth Taylor, Jorrel Hato, and Brian Brobbey previously prevented Ajax from posting deeper red figures, according to soccernews.nl.
Veterans and Loanees Shape the Current Roster
The current player roster features several veterans on advanced football ages who hold limited future transfer value. Julian Brandt is 30, Daley Blind is 36, and Caio Henrique is 29, as detailed by soccernews.nl. Thilo Kehrer and Marcos Leonardo both came into action for a little more than 500 minutes this season to date, while former Girona players Viktor Tsygankov and Daley Blind remain stuck around 350 minutes.
In addition to veteran acquisitions, Ajax and Jong Ajax carry a combined total of seven loaned players on their books. Soccernews.nl pointed out that these loanees provide no direct transfer value, even though some agreements include an option to buy.
VoetbalPrimeur reported that Ajax has cycled through six technical directors and nine head managers over the past four and a half years, alongside approximately twenty supervisory board members. Those administrative shifts yielded zero league titles during that timeframe, according to VoetbalPrimeur.
Private Shareholders Criticize Inconsistent Club Policies
David Tomic of the Association of Stockholders, representing private shareholders, commented on the club’s changing approach. It lacks a clear and stable financial and technical policy,
Tomic said, as cited by soccernews.nl.
One time the emphasis is on self-trained talents, then again on targeted investments, and meanwhile also on hiring experienced players.
In Cruijff’s vision, bringing in older players for Ajax 1 is necessary for the development of homegrown talents such as Abdellah Ouazane, Aaron Bouwman, and Jorthy Mokio.
Ajax Showtime noted that despite high operational hurdles, the mood at the upcoming shareholder meeting is expected to be calmer than last year’s crisis atmosphere. That relative stability stems largely from high-profile additions brought in under Cruijff, including Marc ter Stegen and Julian Brandt, alongside a second-place standing in the Eredivisie table.
The remaining thirteen fixtures were all won, and partly because of that, Ajax stands in second place in the Eredivisie with a goal difference of +17 and 24 points after 11 match rounds.
Soccernews.nl warned that Cruijff’s departure could destabilize the organization because the technical staff across both the senior squad and Jong Ajax, as well as the scouting department, are tailored heavily to his preferences. Tomic added that organizational continuity remains at risk if Cruijff fails to fulfill his contract running through 2028.
Summer Arrivals Spark Questions About Spending
Voetbalzone highlighted questions surrounding specific summer arrivals under the technical director’s watch. Analyst René van der Gijp questioned the acquisition of Marcos Leonardo from Al-Hilal for a reported twenty million euros, pointing to fitness concerns noted after medical testing. René van der Gijp knows that Jordi Cruijff is a guest on Ziggo Sport’s Rondo on Monday evening.
At the same time, FootballTransfers.com reported that Ajax welcomed twelve new players during the summer transfer window. Summer signing Tolu Arokodare emerged as the team’s leading goalscorer with ten goals across competitions, anchoring an attack where returning players still account for sixty percent of the club’s total scoring output.
Whether the striker on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers will also start on Thursday against FC Midtjylland in the Conference League is unclear.
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