Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 8:43 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 21:01

In the run-up to the Conference League match with Lazio, Pascal Jansen spoke with Tijjani Reijnders about the interest of Ajax, among others. The AZ midfielder is going through a strong season and has appeared on the radar of clubs from home and abroad. At Ajax, Reijnders must eventually succeed Edson Álvarez, who will almost certainly leave the team from Amsterdam after this season.

Jansen was asked during the press conference on Wednesday about the interest of the Dutch top. “I spoke to him very briefly about this and paid him a very big compliment that so much attention is being paid to him,” said the AZ coach. “We have not discussed whether those reports are correct. We see it as a great compliment. I don’t think it is relevant, because we are here for the game against Lazio. I think what I just said is more than enough .”

Ajax will have to dig deep into the pockets for Reijnders, as the midfielder in the AFAS Stadium has a continuous contract until mid-2027. AZ is also not eager to sell players to the traditional top three. The same was the case with Owen Wijndal, who eventually made the switch to Ajax for about ten million euros. Also in the case of Reijnders, AZ only seems to want to cooperate if the main prize is on the table. It is not known what amount the Alkmaarders are thinking about.

The 24-year-old Reijnders already made his debut for AZ in 2017. This season, however, he will only experience his final breakthrough. Last year he made 47 appearances across all competitions, but was brought on as a substitute in most of them. A season later, Reijnders is a regular face in the starting line-up. Reijnders has so far played forty matches in this year, in which he scored six times and was the principal eight times. Enough for clubs to cast the rod.