Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 15:15• Jeroen van Poppel

Davy Blind and Daley Klaassen returned from vacation earlier on their own initiative. The two the Dutch internationals of Ajax surprisingly made their appearance on Saturday afternoon in the starting line-up for the exhibition game with Lokomotiva Zagreb. John van ‘t Schip, analyst at Ziggo Sportsthinks that Blind and Klaassen want to prepare themselves optimally for the match for the Johan Cruijff Scale against PSV.

“They already started preparing for the new season on their own initiative on Monday, instead of Wednesday, as planned,” Van ‘t Schip knows. “What does that say? Maybe the women said they could start training again, or that they wanted to start training again. I think the latter, because they are enthusiasts. It indicates that they are eager and that they want to join again to be.”

The other internationals of Ajax are not yet in the match selection on Saturday. “Perhaps it also indicates that Blind and Klaassen know their own bodies very well. And that they know: if we start a little earlier, we can already play 45 minutes, because on July 30 there is an important match on the program (the Johan Cruijff Scale, ed.). I think they have thought about that carefully.” Blind and Klaassen were exchanged at half time.

Van ‘t Schip expects a fierce competition, especially for Klaassen this season. “I expect a big battle in midfield: how will the number 10 position be filled in with Klaassen and Steven Berghuis? Will one of the two go back a place? There are still some options. The question is what else is there to do? There are quite a few places to fight for.”