Brian Brobbey has reacted (indirectly) for the first time to Erik ten Hag’s statements that Ajax wants to buy him back immediately from RB Leipzig. The nineteen-year-old striker, who has signed transfer-free with the German top club, leaves in conversation with Ajax TV remarkably enough to want to return to Amsterdam in a few years’ time.
Brobbey, who has scored 6 goals in 18 official matches for Ajax 1 this season, is asked about his goals at RB Leipzig. “I want to become important in Germany. I want to score a lot of goals and try to win prizes”, said the center striker, who without being asked specifically about a return to Ajax. “In a few years I will hopefully be back here at home. What will I miss most about Ajax? Everything.”
Ajax is seriously thinking of buying back Brian Brobbey, Ten Hag said at the press conference on Thursday after the victory against VVV-Venlo (3-1). The trainer reported that director of player affairs Marc Overmars is ‘busy’ with the return of the striker, although it is not clear whether that scenario is realistic. “I do not yet know exactly how Brobbey is responsible for that,” said Ten Hag. “He hasn’t been very outspoken about that himself. But I understand that too. He hasn’t even played a game there yet.”
Teammate Jurriën Timber, who is also part of the interview with Brobbey, responds to his teammate’s farewell to Leipzig. “I think he will do very well, I have every confidence in him”, says the nineteen-year-old defender, who is in the European Championship pre-selection for the Dutch. “If he is fit and starts good conditionally, then he cannot be stopped. Not even in Germany. You have seen that at European level. Then they just cannot keep him. We will miss him anyway.”
Brobbey turned out to be a super sub at Ajax’s first this season, but at the start of the season his role was completely different. “I started at Young Ajax”, he recalls. “I was not in such a good condition, Erik told me. I played a lot of matches there. The coach was also often looking at us. I asserted myself there and then I was allowed to sit on the bench against Fortuna Sittard. In my debut game I also scored right, then I stayed with the first. “