Ajax already brought in a young midfielder this transfer period with Mohammed Kudus and it does not seem to stop there when it comes to the team from Amsterdam. Davy Klaassen is explicitly associated with a return to the Johan Cruijff ArenA and the current player of Werder Bremen would add the necessary experience to the selection of trainer Erik ten Hag. Erik Meijer, in the past player for Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburger SV and now Bundesliga analyst, understands that Ajax has come out happy Klaassen again.

The former striker indicates that director of football affairs Marc Overmars and Klaassen are bringing in someone who knows the club, the playing style and the league: “If you get him today, he can play tomorrow”, he explains in conversation with the Algemeen Dagblad. Meijer also thinks that the now 27-year-old Klaassen has become a different player in the three years that he has played abroad: “If you go to a tougher foreign league, you automatically take steps.”

“Klaassen is physically stronger and he has also further developed his leadership role in Bremen. It is not without reason that he is captain and the right hand of trainer Florian Kohfeldt. ” Meijer sees that Ajax has already brought in two experienced players with Daley Blind and Dusan Tadic in recent years and he thinks that Klaassen could fulfill the same role: “The trainer can include them in his plans. They help to keep training tough and to immediately implement a command from Erik ten Hag in matches. In this way he creates a strong axis around which the rest can move. ”

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Klaassen has also developed into a more defensive midfielder in recent seasons and that is precisely a position where Ajax is still looking. The sixteen-time international of the Netherlands national team operated as number 10 when he was still active in Amsterdam: “Now he has a more controlling role. Actually a player who is in between 6 and 8 position, but still with the nose for the goal ”, says Meijer.

If Klaassen comes to Ajax and is drafted as a controlling midfielder, he will probably fulfill this role differently than, for example, Edson Álvarez or Lisandro Martínez do: “Klaassen is not super defensive. He can play as the most defensive midfielder, but I would think that would be a shame for his qualities. His walking ability remains his greatest weapon. Conditionally he has only gotten stronger. I would still like to see him pass the rush hour and enclosing it. ”

Ajax made steps in the European field in recent seasons, while Klaassen fought against relegation with Werder. According to Meijer, the midfielder has the experience and the level to rejoin his old club: “The question is whether it will still be good enough when Ajax reaches the last eight. Two years ago, certainly, but every Ajax player has grown to a higher level. The greater personality he has become in the Bundesliga can give Ajax an extra boost internationally. ”