Nicolás Tagliafico is very interested in leaving Ajax (temporarily) this winter. The left back does not enjoy the full confidence of trainer Erik ten Hag and wants to leave Amsterdam this transfer period, it reports General Newspaper. Tagliafico has offers from Napoli and Olympique Marseille, who want to hire the Argentinian. However, Ajax does not seem to intend to let the defender go just like that.
Tagliafico is looking for more playing time, as he has only been in the starting lineup twice this season in the Eredivisie. In total he made 10 appearances (more than 300 playing minutes). Last year he could still count on the confidence of Ten Hag and he was the first man in the left back position. This season, that role has been assigned to Daley Blind. Tagliafico is so dissatisfied with his reserve role that he is aiming for a departure this winter. On Tuesday, the agent of the Argentine international will talk to Ajax to discuss the hopeless situation.
The question is whether Ajax is willing to cooperate in a winter transfer, as the team from Amsterdam is thin in the defenders. “And if players go, we will first want a replacement. In that order, that is the ideal picture. We are not forced to sell financially,” Ten Hag said last month. At the last contract extension in December 2020, Ajax made agreements about the conditions under which he can be sold. Should Tagliafico leave early, a rental seems the most obvious.
In addition to his reserve role at Ajax, the Argentinian also lost his base place with the national team. Tagliafico was undisputed for years as a left-back with Argentina, but has now faced stiff competition from Marcos Acuña. The last time Tagliafico was in the starting line-up for the national team was on October 11 in the World Cup qualifier against Uruguay (3-0 win). Tagliafico does not want to run the risk of sitting on the bench at the end of this year during the World Cup in Qatar and would therefore encourage a departure.
Despite Tagliafico’s reserve role, Ten Hag wants to keep the defender on board. The team from Amsterdam want to enter the second half of the season with the widest possible selection, in which PSV must be knocked off the first place in the Eredivisie. Renowned transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio reported last weekend that Napoli has concrete interest in Tagliafico. “Napoli’s interest in Tagliafico is concrete, but the negotiations with Ajax are complicated,” concluded Di Marzio. According to various French media, Olympique Marseille would also be interested in the left back of Ajax.