The Hoops have struggled in Europe in recent years while Ajax have reached the Champions League semi-finals.
Celtic midfielder James Forrest has spoken highly of Champions League high-flyers Ajax, describing them as an inspiration for what can be done by teams with “lesser budgets” in Europe’s elite club tournament.
The Eredivisie side is gearing up to face Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals of the competition, having already knocked out Real Madrid and Juventus, a run which has got the whole footballing world talking.
Ajax have a modest budget compared to the conventional elite of European football, with a fair amount of the squad players – including standout youngsters Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong – having gratuated from the club’s academy.
Celtic have endured mixed fortunes in Europe over the past few years, having last reached the knockout stages of the Champions League in 2012-13, while in the Europa League they have not been able to get past the round of 32 in recent years.
This year, the Hoops got through a tricky Europa League group which included Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig, but fell to a 3-0 aggregate defeat by Valencia in the next round.
“A lot of people have talked about Ajax putting out teams like Real Madrid and Juventus,” Forrest is quoted by the Glasgow Evening Times as saying. “I think a lot of the teams with lesser budgets will take a lot of confidence from that because they have showed what can be done.
“Celtic have been successful in Europe before so it would be good to get back to that and Ajax have showed what’s possible.”
Domestically, Celtic are faring much better, Neil Lennon’s charges on the cusp of a treble treble.
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