A striking substitution at Jong Ajax is a topic of discussion at De Toekomst Sports Complex. Ahmetcan Kaplan played only one half against MVV Maastricht (3-0 win) and was substituted for Nick Verschuren at half-time. It could be that Kaplan, who was attracted for no less than 9.5 million euros in the summer of 2022, will make his official debut for Ajax 1 next Thursday.

Due to the disastrous purchasing policy of the dismissed director of football affairs Sven Mislintat, John van 't Schip is faced with several worrying positions at Ajax. After the deception against SC Heerenveen (3-2 loss), the head coach explicitly referred to the left back position as a 'concern child'.

Borna Sosa was given the opportunity to prove himself after his good substitute against PSV (1-1), but did not make it in Friesland. “We thought after last week that he would be there. I am not saying that it is all his fault, but it is true that we are simply vulnerable in that position,” said Van 't Schip at the press conference. Earlier, Ar'Jany Martha, the other option at left back, fell hopelessly short when visiting Heracles Almelo (2-4 win).

Ajax has been preparing Kaplan for his official debut in Ajax 1 for months. The 21-year-old Turk was taken over from Trabzonspor in the summer of 2022 with great expectations, but suffered from long-term injuries from the start.

Only since the end of 2023 has Kaplan been truly fit for the first time. Since then, the center defender has been playing for Jong Ajax in the Kitchen Champion Division. Kaplan has already been on the bench several times at Ajax 1, but he has not yet made his debut. On Monday evening, Kaplan made an excellent impression against MVV, but he remained behind in the dressing room after the first half.

It fuels speculation about an upcoming debut for Kaplan in the former. On Thursday, the Amsterdam team will face FK Bodø/Glimt in the play-offs (an interim round) of the Conference League.

A serious option for Van 't Schip is to position Kaplan, a left-footed player, in the center of the defense. In this way, Jorrel Hato could be deployed as a left back. Ajax's seventeen-year-old top talent prefers to play centrally, but has previously shown that he can also fill the left back position properly.

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