While Everton’s lengthy trophy drought will roll over into a 26th year, there are at least two players with a Goodison Park connection who will end the season with a winner’s medal hanging around their neck.
On Sunday, Ajax moved one giant step closer to yet another Eredivisie title, defeating last season’s tormentors AZ Alkmaar in front of a socially-distanced yet-no-less-vociferous Amsterdam Arena.
And it was two former Everton men who combined to put Erik Ten Hag’s side on the verge of domestic glory.
Ajax only need one point from their final four games to seal the deal.
Toffees supporters would have been forgiven for assuming Maarten Stekelenburg’s time at the top was over when the veteran goalkeeper walked away from Merseyside in June 2020.
But, at the age of 38, there is clearly life in the old dog yet.
Stekelenburg, standing in for the banned Andre Onana, made two fine saves in the first half as AZ hammered on the Ajax door. The runaway league leaders weathered the storm, however, before the familiar face of Davy Klaassen steered them into rather calmer waters.
Ajax’s prodigal son took his tally to 15 for the season with a clinical second-half brace, sparking wild celebrations in the Dutch capital. His first season back at Ajax looks destined to end in the fourth Eredivisie title of his career – and his first since 2014.
“An absolute master,” Ten Hag told AD at full-time, gushing about a midfielder who hardly kicked a ball in Everton blue during that fitful 2016/17 campaign.
“He never mourns the loss of possession and is always at the forefront of the fight. He always delivers.”
Klaassen, and Stekelenburg, are about to ‘deliver’ an Eredivisie title while their old employers slump to another mid-table finish.
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