On Sunday Mohammed Kudus officially made his debut for Ajax in the home match against RKC Waalwijk (3-0 victory) and did so with verve. The Ghanaian, who came over from FC Nordsjaelland, made an excellent impression in midfield as a replacement for Ryan Gravenberch and was in the spotlight with coach Erik ten Hag. The latter does not rule out the possibility that Kudus and Gravenberch will come together to play centrally in midfield at some point this season.

Ten Hag opted last week during the season opener against Sparta Rotterdam (0-1 victory) for a midfield block consisting of Edson Álvarez and Gravenberch, with Quincy Promes as number ten. However, Gravenberch was not a match fit today, giving Kudus a chance as a more offensive player on the block. “I think it’s great to see him play”, is Ten Hag afterwards at FOX Sports praising Kudus’ performance.

“He is very active and dynamic and can play football in a very high intensity. He demands the ball and often knows how to do something good with it”, continues the practice master of Ajax about the newcomer. “He also picks up balls. If he learns to take even better positions in our system, it will become a very nice player for Ajax. We need to see where we need him.”

Ten Hag emphasizes that Kudus is far from sure of his place in the team. “He has done a lot of good things, but I have also seen a lot of improvements. That has to do with taking positions. The more he plays, the easier it will be for him”, says the coach, who hints at an extremely offensive midfield with both Gravenberch and Kudus at the end of the interview. “It can’t be ruled out that Gravenberch and Kudus will play together”. Still, Ten Hag wants to emphasize the value of Álvarez. “How many balls did he take again today? And how much is he on his way to be playable, connect the game and take good positions?”, the chooser asks himself aloud. “That works very well.”