Ajax fans are coming to terms with the reality of their club’s summer spending spree.
With Erik Ten Hag moving to Manchester United the club lost half a team of players with around £180m coming in from sales.
Spending around half of that seems like the ideal business model but not if you blow away around £20m on Calvin Bassey.
Being able to run non-stop will get you by in Scotland but some footballing ability is needed if you are facing up to Napoli in the Champions League.
Ajax took the lead in Tuesday’s Champions League match but Napoli steamrollered over Bassey and his new team-mates with five different scorers in a 6-1 win. On Wednesday Ajax face more of the same when they take on the Italian’s with a 100% record knowing that a home win next week will secure their qualification for the knock-out stage.
Reviewing Tuesday’s humiliation former Ajax star Marciano Vink told The Sun:
Calvin Bassey’s predecessor, Lisandro Martínez, was great at passing and reading the game. From the first moment I watched Bassey on his debut against Almere City, I was shocked at how bad his passing was.
I believe that he is very strong and that he is powerful in the tackle, but at Ajax, something more is demanded, especially if you want to play the passing game.
To blame everything on Bassey is a bit harsh, but I think he is typical of the scouting and purchasing from the club. When he gets the ball, there is no danger to an opponent. He has to improve quickly.
Bassey looked like a world beater in Matchday 1 when Ajax cruised to a 4-0 win over his former club.
