Branco van den Boomen will not be moving to the Premier League with Aston Villa as the reported Leeds United target joins Eredivisie giants Ajax on a free transfer.
After a disastrous spell of recruitment during the summer of 2022, an Ajax side who went from first to third in the space of a miserable 12 months are under serious pressure to get things right this time around.
And Branco van den Boomen, one of European football’s genuine late bloomers, becomes Ajax’s first signing of what is likely to be a hectic summer of rebuilding at the Johan Cryuff Arena.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the former Toulouse talisman was initially a target for Unai Emery’s Aston Villa and Leeds United.
Now, if relegation on the final day was a dagger to the heart of Leeds’ hopes of luring Van den Boomen to Elland Road, the sight of the 27-year-old Dutchman putting pen to paper with Ajax will have been the final nail in the proverbial coffin.
Leeds and Aston Villa miss out on Branco van den Boomen to Ajax
Van den Boomen chance creation numbers were up there with the likes of Lionel Messi, Bruno Fernandes, Kevin de Bruyne and Martin Odegaard during 2022/23. He now becomes the first signing of the Sven Mislintat era in the Dutch capital after his contract expired.
“With his self-confidence and technique, he is a typical Ajax player,” former Toulouse team-mate Thijs Dallinga tells Algemeen Dagblad.
“It is wonderful for attackers to have such a player alongside you. He can serve someone (with chances) perfectly from every angle and position. Also because he always thinks a few steps ahead.
“I see Branco succeeding at Ajax and staying there for a long time. A player like him fits perfectly in a team that has a lot of possession of the ball in the opponent’s half.”
An elite set-piece taker; Van den Boomen scored six goals and set up 13 more during his final season at Toulouse.
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