Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 10:23 AM

Wim Kieft is not surprised by the elimination of Ajax in the Europa League by AS Roma. The former striker writes in his column The Telegraph that it is an illusion that Ajax is bound to find a connection with the European top. “Judging by the financial possibilities and especially the impossibilities, you know that Ajax is losing out to the European top. They rob you of your top talents and then you miss the financial scope to buy back players of the same top level ”, says Kieft.

According to Kieft, it is difficult to maintain yourself in the final phase of the Champions League as long as the growth of top talents such as Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Hakim Ziyech and Donny van de Beek does not occur. “Ajax’s future lies more in the second phase of the Europa League than the Champions League. Although great powers participate in this, such as Manchester United and AS Roma. Where the Romans annually add 95 million euros to television money, Ajax has to settle for 10 percent of that. ” Kieft notes that Ajax has ‘lost a lot in football’ and points to the difference between a midfield consisting of De Jong, Ziyech and Van de Beek and the current midriff Davy Klaassen, Ryan Gravenberch and Edson Álvarez.

“In such a case, the lack of Daley Blind makes itself felt even more. He is someone who sets the rhythm and pace of the game, like no other can play between the lines himself and serve others between the lines. Gravenberch is far from that far and Klaassen is also unable to make a difference at quarter-final level in Europe. To watch Alvarez struggle is painful anyway ”, Kieft observes. He also finds it significant that Ajax in Rome had to fall back on Sean Klaiber, who replaced the suspended Devyne Rensch.

“You can’t blame that boy for Ajax getting him. Still, you hold your heart continuously every time he hits the ball. Noussair Mazraoui, Devyne Rensch and Jurriën Timber are much better and then Sergiño Dest was still around there last season ”, Kieft writes. He thinks that David Neres and Antony have been ‘not giving home’ for some time. “Antony is no longer a shadow of the winger of the first months. On the offensive, everything at Ajax has to come from Dusan Tadic – by the way, he shot the ball in his rejected goal – and that makes the team vulnerable. He is actually the best Ajax player in all three positions at the front. ”