Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 08:43• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 08:52

Ajax has extended Kristian Hlynsson’s contract, the club announced on Tuesday morning via the official channels. The eighteen-year-old midfielder, who is seen as one of the greatest talents within Ajax’s youth academy, is now stuck in Amsterdam until 2026. The Icelander’s old contract ran until mid-2023. The midfielder made his debut in the first team at the end of last year in the cup match against Barendrecht.

Hlynsson is seen in Amsterdam as a promising talent. The midfielder came over from Breidablik in 2020 and at the time signed a contract until 2022. After his arrival at Ajax, he was added to the selection of the Under 16. At Breidablik he ended up in the Under 17 at a young age. He also played several youth internationals. Before Hlynsson came to Ajax, he completed an internship at Bayern Munich.

Hlynsson was born in Odense, Denmark, but holds the Icelandic nationality. He made his debut in the first team on December 15 in the match for the TOTO KNVB Cup against Barendrecht (4-0). Trainer Erik ten Hag brought him into the lines for Davy Klaassen ten minutes before the end. He took part in half of the cup match against Excelsior Maassluis last week. The midfielder scored in both games. In recent seasons he came to 21 at Jong Ajax.

“I was a bit nervous, I had butterflies in my stomach,” Hlynsson said on the club site in December after his debut in Ajax 1. With his goal against Barendrecht from the penalty spot, he joined the company of Johan Cruijff and Marco van Basten, among others, who also scored at the age of seventeen on their debut for Ajax. “I thought: I shoot it myself‘ said Hlynsson of the self-earned and used penalty kick. “When I was young I took the penalties. Now less.”