‘Not fit’: Ten Hag says Liverpool won’t face £18m Ajax star on Wednesday

Follow us on Google Discover

Ajax will be without £18 million attacker Antony during their Champions League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday after Erik Ten Hag ruled him out of the game, speaking to Reuters.

While Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League champions are still reeling from the news the talismanic Virgil van Dijk could be sidelined for up to eight months with a torn ACL, not everything is rosy in the Ajax camp either.

Antony, the waif-like Hakim Ziyech replacement who arrived in Amsterdam from Sao Paulo in a deal that could rise to £18 million, will be conspicuous by his absence in midweek with Ten Hag losing his left-footed maverick on the eve of an intriguing European fixture.

The reason for Antony’s absence has not been disclosed.

However, Ten Hag was willing to admit the teenager, who has scored three times in five Eredivisie games this season, was “not fit” to feature.

Fellow Brazilian David Neres, one of the many stars of Ajax’s stunning run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, is likely to take Antony’s place on the right-hand side.

But even with the finest centre-half in world football missing from the heart of their defence, Ten Hag isn’t going to take Liverpool lightly.

“(Liverpool are) the best team in the world,” says the former Bayern Munich reserve coach, who models his possession-based style on that of his old mentor Pep Guardiola.

“When you win the Champions League one year and follow it up by winning the Premier League the next, it shows you they are the best in the world.

“Van Dijk’s absence won’t make a difference because they always play the same. There might be a change in the quality of personnel but not the overall quality of the team.”

Ten Hag also played down a worrying run that has seen Liverpool concede nine goals in their last two games.

“Seven of those came in an extraordinary game (against Villa) and I think four of the 13 have been unlucky deflections. I suppose it says they aren’t as infallible as they were for long periods last season.”