Ricardo van Rhijn will temporarily train with Young Ajax. The contract of the thirty-year-old defender with FC Emmen expired on 1 July 2021 and no agreement was reached on a new contract. The transfer-free Van Rhijn came into contact with former teammate and trainer John Heitinga after the expiration of his agreement with the Drenthe.
On the official website of Ajax, Van Rhijn indicates that he has approached Heitinga himself for a temporary collaboration. In the 2015/16 season, the duo played a few games together in the shirt of the team from Amsterdam and with the the Dutch squad. “I already knew John from the 2015/2016 season and from the Dutch national team. That made it a bit easier to approach him. I was very welcome to stay in shape here,” said the defender.
“I’ve been training for myself for the past few weeks and I’ve stayed so fit. Now it’s time to join a group again, with other forms of play. I could almost drive the route with my eyes closed. It’s great that I can maintain my condition here for the time being,” says Van Rhijn. There may even be a place in the A-selection for the wing defender, as Sean Klaiber suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury last week and is not available for the time being.
Van Rhijn himself has not yet responded to the vacancy in the right-back position, but he does indicate that he still hopes for a transfer abroad. “Belgium was very close. I would like to experience a completely different culture. But I also do not rule out a Dutch club in advance,” concludes Van Rhijn, who played for Club Brugge, AZ, sc Heerenveen and Emmen after his departure from Ajax.
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