Is it time for top clubs to move away from signing players from Ajax

The Ajax football team is one of the most well-known in the world, having produced a number of leading players across multiple generations, all of whom have gone on to make a name for themselves with other clubs.

From the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, Christian Eriksen, Johan Cruijff, Marco Van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Seedorf, Van der Sar, Frank Rijkaard, and many more.

However, over 80% of their player sales over the last eight seasons have all struggled in their teams. Daley Blind left Ajax in 2014/15 for Manchester United for a fee of £17.5M but struggled with the intensity of the PL and returned to Ajax two seasons later. Milik in 2016 cost Napoli £32 million, who also struggled, scoring 48 goals in 122 games before being loaned to Marseille.

Ajax, after losing to Manchester United in the 2017 Europa League final, sold 21-year-old Davinson Sanchez to Tottenham for a fee of £42M and Davy Klaassen, then captain of the side, to Everton. Sanchez is currently struggling to find a place in Conte’s starting lineup while Klasseen left Everton after one season.

After an impressive CL run that saw them reach the semi-finals, Ajax's captain De Ligt secured an £85.5M move to Juventus; midfield maestro Frenkie De Jong got his dream move to Barcelona for a fee of £86M dollars; and Kasper Dolberg moved to OGC Nice. Frenkie is now settling in with the Barcelona team, while De Ligt's move to Juventus did not go as planned, and he has now been sold to Bayern Munich. Dolberg has 24 goals in 85 games for OGC Nice.

Hakim Ziyech, Donny Van de Beek, and Sergino Dest made moves to Chelsea, Manchester United, and Barcelona, respectively. Dest has been loaned to AC Milan, while Donny’s Manchester United career hasn’t been the best. Although Ziyech may have won the CL, his performance in the Chelsea jersey isn’t something he would be proud of.

Ryan Gravenberch is currently struggling for game time at Bayern Munich, while Antony, the most expensive summer signing in the PL, is still yet to find his feet at Manchester United, having made just six goal involvements in 20 games for his side, while Lisandro Martinez has been excellent so far for Manchester United.

The big question now is whether the top teams in Europe should be wary of signing players from Ajax, especially since Jurrien Timber, Edson Alvarez, and Kenneth Taylor all appear to be the next products of this impressive club with a track record of producing top talent.