Ronald Koeman announced last weekend that Riqui Puig will probably have little time to play next season, so this transfer window is still looking forward to a new club. Mundo Deportivo writes Monday morning that the technical staff of the Catalans would like to rent the 21-year-old midfielder to Ajax. The Amsterdammers haven’t made a bid yet, but Barcelona would pave the way for Puig to the Netherlands at the moment.

It’s not the first time Puig has been associated with a transfer to Ajax. According to The Telegraph Barcelona wanted to involve André Onana with Ajax and goalkeeper Neto, midfielders Puig and Alex Collado or midfielder Carles Aleña in a possible deal. However, such a deal never got off the ground. Puig was invariably reported to be on the radar at Ajax, but Mundo Deportivo now claims the opposite: Barcelona would like to stall the young midfielder in Amsterdam.

In Barcelona one would find it difficult to find the right club at the properties of Puig, but Ajax is considered an ideal option in that respect. For the time being, no concrete offer has been received from Amsterdam, although Ajax is at the top of the list of Barcelona’s technical staff with options for Puig. Koeman thinks it’s important that the midfielder gets to play next season, and his entourage and the Barcelona club management will soon meet to discuss the options.

Puig comes from the youth training of Barcelona and last season played eleven games in the main force, in which he was good for two assists. Quique Setién gave the youngster a lot of confidence in his 4-3-3 system, but the 4-2-3-1 system Koeman seems to opt for threatens to be negative for Puig. Koeman chose Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong as controllers in the practice match against Elche (1-0 victory), while Miralem Pjanic and Carles Aléña are higher in the pecking order than Puig.

“I’ve told Riqui Puig that this season is going to be hard for him to get a lot of games. However, I also told him that he still has a future with Barcelona. I advise him to leave temporarily: at his age he should get used to playing”, Koeman said. Barça TV about the future of Puig.