Ajax is not interested in Philippe Sandler for the time being, reports Bart Sanders in the Pantelic Podcast. After the performance of the 27-year-old NEC defender in the cup final against Feyenoord (1-0 loss), the call in Amsterdam for Sandler became louder, but Ajax did not respond.

In particular Mike Verweij from The Telegraph Sandler has been recommending Ajax for weeks. “Ajax will have to do something, they cannot spend 120 million for the third year in a row,” Verweij said in the podcast on Monday Kickoff.

“Ajax will therefore have to be inventive,” says Verweij. “Sandler came to NEC for free. I think you can pick him up for three to five million euros. If you sell Josip Sutalo, I think you will get a much better player. If I were Ajax, I would immediately get Sandler.”

Ajax does not want to comply, as Sanders knows. “Ajax has scouted Sandler, but he has been 'scouted out',” the statement said Pantelic Podcast. “It is not an option for Ajax for the time being. Preference goes to others.”

Pieter Black from Football International will find that only logical. The magazine's editor-in-chief does not think Sandler is a good option for Ajax. “I was surprised at the rave reviews Sandler received after the Cup final,” Zwart said in a video item. “That shows that in the Netherlands they only look at whether a defender can play football.”

Black points to Sandler's 'gigantic defensive error' in the only goal in the cup final. “Santiago Gimenez walks away from Sandler, who trudges behind him a bit. He then covers Gimenez at four meters, allowing the pass to Igor Paixão. Later there was also a moment with Ayase Ueda who was free for the goalkeeper came, a similar mistake from Sandler.”

“Defending at Sandler is all done with ease…” says Zwart. “I see that every game I watch from him.”

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