Marcel Keizer has gone…but will Ajax wonderkid Donny Van der Beek be on his way too with Spurs wanting to bring him to the Premier League?
If Ajax had sacked Marcel Keizer three months ago after their worrying start to the season, there might not have been too many complaints from the disillusioned fanbase.
But to sack the former youth team coach now, halfway through his first season at the helm of the senior side, has raised a few eyebrows. Yes, Ajax were knocked out of the KNVB Cup at the hands of FC Twente in midweek but Keizer’s side had started to find their feet as his famously complex tactical system took shape.
In the last two months, Ajax thrashed champions Feyenoord 4-1 at De Kuip, battered league leaders PSV 3-0 and also won away at high-flying AZ Alkmaar – not to mention putting five past Roda JC and eight past NAC Breda.
And Keizer’s exit may have repercussions. It was he who turned Donny Van der Beek from another promising Amsterdam graduate into one of the first names on the team sheet and one of the most in-demand young midfielders in Europe, after all.
Replacing skipper Davy Klaassen in the centre of the park, he had never scored a league goal for Ajax before this season. Now he has six – coming from just 16 starts in 2017/18.
Crafty and typically hard-working Van der Beek carries the Ajax stamp and it is no surprise that Tottenham Hotspur are interested, according to The Sun.
Spurs have had great success recruiting from Ajax in recent years, Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen and Davinson Sanchez all starring while Toby Alderweireld arrived in North London via spells at Atletico Madrid and Southampton.
And Van der Beek undoubtedly has the potential to follow in their esteemed footsteps. And more instability at an Ajax side who appear to be lacking any sort of leadership off the field, or a manager in the dugout, may just have Van der Beek wishing to accelerate his departure.
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