The partnership would see players from the Red Devils loaned to Ajax to gain great experience from first team football and although a plethora of transfers would be unlikely, with Ajax only likely to loan in areas they are in need of strengthening, it could potentially give Manchester United’s youth players a fantastic chance to experience a different footballing culture. The deal seems to be quite a simple one; United will send some of their best young and fringe players on loan to Ajax and in return they could have first refusal over some of the players linked with moves away from the Dutch club.
In an interview with Voetbal International, Frank de Boer said: “If Manchester United talent would prefer to gain experience with Ajax than in the lower divisions in England, then it can be a very interesting option.”
De Boer’s quotes come less than a week after Manchester United Dutch first-team coach Rene Meulensteen admitted to newspaper AD that loaning out the younger players would be a good idea with former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar playing a big role in getting the partnership started. “For our younger players it would be a good idea, rather play at Ajax than in the Championship, I’ll keep Edwin informed.”.
Now that Edwin van der Sar is working as the sporting director at Ajax, the move could prove extremely useful for both sides with the ex-United legend likely to play a key role if the partnership materialises.
This season, Ajax have had Barcelona’s highly-rated winger Issac Cuenca on loan with the club and despite his problems with injuries, De Boer is hopeful that the player will go back to Spain with ‘enthusiastic stories’. Barcelona are expected to have a long standing loan partnership with Ajax due to the link that Director of Football Marc Overmars provides, so the loan deal for Cuenca is likely to be the first of many.
Given Ajax’s globally renowned talent at creating and nurturing some of the worlds most gifted players including Dennis Bergkamp, Johan Cruyff, Patrick Kluverit, Edgar Davids, Marco van Basten and Wesley Sneijder, a move would be a great experience for any United youngsters and likely extremely beneficial.
If this deal does come off, and Manchester United do get first refusal on Ajax’s stars then I’m sure that Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen, Viktor Fischer and many more who could all make the 20-time champions a much stronger squad and a much stronger proposition to their rivals.
Ajax are not going to turn into a feeder club because they are under no obligation to sell players to United who don’t wish to move. The Eredivisie is a greatly underrated league in the context of European football and it allows United to get a stronger hold in terms of their scouting network in the Netherlands. It also potentially cuts off the supply line to their main rivals.
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