Arno Vermeulen does not believe that Ajax can directly compete with reigning national champion PSV and number two Feyenoord under the new head coach Francesco Farioli. The journalist does expect that the Amsterdam club can make a bid for a place in the top four of the Eredivisie next season.

“This is a great selection to finish fourth or fifth with,” Vermeulen predicted on Monday in Football talk by ESPN“He (Farioli, ed.) can jump as much as he wants, but he will need some quality.”

“Look, they will be in better shape than last year. That was of course a messy year. They left things behind. Players were not yet able to play ninety minutes at the end of the season. I expect the new coach to make sure they are fitter,” Vermeulen gives Farioli the benefit of the doubt for now.

“That will help. Certainly if you have a plan where fitness is important. But it is also about quality,” emphasizes Vermeulen, who saw Ajax finish in a disappointing fifth place in the Eredivisie last season.

“And if you had said to an Ajax fan a while ago: 'Ajax is going to play with Godts, Fitz-Jim, Baas'. Then they would be shocked, I assume, and they would think: What are we going to do this year?“, said the Eredivisie watcher.

Godts

Kees Kwakman does have confidence in the only nineteen-year-old Godts. “I think you have a really good one with Godts.” Presenter Milan van Dongen immediately makes a side note. “You can't do him a favour to be first choice this season? Has he shown enough? He couldn't even play a whole match last season.”

“You still have Forbs in reserve, don't you?”, Kwakman counters. “And Forbs came back from a very serious injury. And I assume he also had a preparation behind him. I can assume that the boy has also made progress physically. I thought he made a very good impression at Ajax. I would dare to do it with Godts and Forbs, you know.”

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