Ajax will not let Dusan Tadic go to AC Milan, Erik ten Hag emphasized on Tuesday evening in conversation with ESPN. The Serbian captain of the team from Amsterdam was associated with a transfer to the San Siro by Italian media last week. Ten Hag says he is not concerned about the rumors. “I only get worried when these kinds of rumors are no longer there.”
In his own words, Ten Hag is not surprised that various Ajax players are associated with foreign clubs. “We have very good players and they have only gotten better”, he said before the practice match against Quick’20 in Oldenzaal. “We’ve performed well over the past three years and that just means you’re in the sights of the bigger clubs. So it’s a compliment for what we’ve done.”
The trainer said that he and director of football affairs Marc Overmars did not have to take action after there had been Italian interest in Tadic last week. “That is not necessary, because Tadic is not going, he will stay here,” said Ten Hag, who did not want to let go of the interest in Feyenoord captain Steven Berghuis. “Like every year, we don’t go into names. The moment we have news, we will bring it and invite you all.”
Reporter Aletha Leidelmeijer did not give up and asked Ten Hag if he could use Berghuis. “I’m not going to go into that,” said Ten Hag. “Of course, we want better. We are looking: where can you strengthen your selection? In any case, we want to keep this group we have together. And we also want to add some freshness. Because we want better and we will have to do better, because we are very ambitious. We are driven, especially the players, but of course also the whole club. We are the number one in the Netherlands for three years in a row. That also means that the competition is not sleeping. We will also have to do better.”
In preparation for the new season, Ajax is currently at a training camp. Because several internationals are still enjoying their holidays or are still taking action on behalf of their country, Ten Hag took several talents to De Lutte. The trainer hopes that one or more players will provide a surprise. “This phase is ideal to bring a lot of young players. To view and rate them. Let them experience the laws of the first team. We hope there will be a surprise.”
In recent years, Ten Hag was surprised by various players in the preparation. “In the first year it was Mazraoui, in the second year it was Dest and the third year Rensch. So yes, I am hopeful. We have a lot of good players with us. It doesn’t always have to be the pearl. It can sometimes be a very useful player that you need in your team, who suddenly floats to the top. So I let myself be surprised.”