Erik ten Hag and Nicolás Tagliafico do not live at odds, according to the Ajax coach. The 29-year-old left back is invariably reserve this season and said on Monday that the trainer ‘could talk to him about that more often’. Ten Hag says after the game with Sporting Portugal (4-2 win) that he sees an important strength in Tagliafico and speaks highly of the Argentinian.
Tagliafico was expected to start in the starting line-up against Sporting Portugal, but Daley Blind nevertheless appeared at the starting signal at left back. At halftime, the Argentina international came on for Blind and was immediately given the captain’s armband. That indicates the confidence of the trainer, according to Ten Hag. “Tagliafico has a certain role in motivation, in keeping things together, in sharpening things up. He did an excellent job of that today.”
The trainer responds in the negative to the tension that there would be between Ten Hag and the back. Reporter Koen Weijland of RTL 7 cites a statement by Tagliafico, who last week against the NOS said ‘that Ten Hag could talk a little more with his bankers’. “No, I don’t have to talk to him,” Ten Hag sneezes. “At least, not in the sense you mean, because we talk to each other very often. That he gets the band already shows that.”
“Nico is a very important player for us. He plays an important role in training anyway, but he can also just play in the base,” continues Ten Hag. Including the minutes against Sporting Portugal in the Champions League this season, Tagliafico is only 347 minutes played in total. The Argentinian was nominated to be sold last summer, but a transfer was not forthcoming. Tagliafico’s contract, who has been playing for Ajax since 2018, expires in the summer of 2023.