TOP GOAL SCORERS IN THE TOP 5 LEAGUES THIS SEASON

IS AJAX TEAM DOING FOOLISHNESS ?

During the 2018-19 Champions League, Ajax reached the semi-finals of the competition. But this year they did not pass the group stage. Valencia and Chelsea qualified to the next round whereas Lillie was placed 4th in the table. But where did they go wrong? Here are the 4 reasons for it.

1 TRANSFER OF DE LIGT TO JUVENTUS

Last season De Ligt was their main man in the squad. The 20- year-old Dutch captained them last season. He scored the crucial and winner goal against Juventus which led Ajax to the semi-finals of their competition. His perfomance stunned many of the big clubs in the world. On 18 July 2019, De Ligt signed for Serie A champions Juventus on a five-year contract for a fee of €75 million, to be paid in five annual installments, with additional costs of €10.5 million. He made his official debut for the club in a 4–3 home win over Napoli in Serie A on 31 August. On 3 November, he scored his first for the club in a 1–0 away win over cross-city rivals Torino in the Derby della Mole.

2 TRANSFER OF DE JONG  TO BARCELONA

The midfield maestro had a fabulous season last year. He was a key factor for Ajax. The 22-year-old Dutchman played 25 matches for the Amsterdam based team in which he scored 5 times. Many clubs were interested to sign him as they knew this young talent could put magic in their midfield. 

On 23 January 2019, LaLiga club Barcelona announced the signing of de Jong on a five-year contract, effective from 1 July 2019, for an initial fee worth €75 million. He made his competitive debut on 16 August 2019, in a 1–0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao. De Jong had transfer discussions with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City before ultimately opting for Barcelona.

De Jong has primarily played as a central midfielder. In his first 12 league appearances, he has scored and assisted, once each, in the same game—against Valencia CF on 14 September 2019, at Camp Nou. His first assist was to Ansu Fati in the 2nd minute. He set up Fati with a low cross from the right. Fati then assisted for de Jong's first goal, in the 7th minute. Fati cut a low cross in from the left which de Jong scored from just outside the six-yard box.

3 TRANSFER OF DOLBERG TO NICE

Dolberg was a rising talent. The Danish forward has played a total of 78 matches for Ajax scoring 33 times. He was also a key player for Ajax.

 On 26 July 2016, Dolberg scored his first goal in European competition on his competitive debut for Ajax, in a 1–1 Champions League qualification match against PAOK. He made his Eredivisie debut for the club on 7 August 2016 in a match against Sparta Rotterdam, coming on as a substitute for Mateo Cassierra. The following week he was in the starting line-up for the league match against Roda JC and he scored both of Ajax' goals in the 2–2 draw, his first goals in the Eredivisie. On 29 September 2016, Dolberg scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Standard Liège in a Europa League match. He scored another goal in his first 'Klassieker' against Ajax' great rival Feyenoord on 23 October 2016, securing a 1–1 draw away in Rotterdam. On 20 November 2016, he scored a first-half hat-trick in an Eredivisie match against NEC. This made him the youngest non-Dutch player ever to score a hattrick for Ajax. On 9 March 2017, Dolberg scored the equalizer in what ended in a 2–1 loss to F.C. Copenhagen in the round of 16 of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League campaign, thus ending a club record eight-month period in which Copenhagen had not conceded any goals at their home ground at Parken Stadium since 20 August 2016.

Dolberg signed for Nice on 29 August 2019 for a fee of 20.5 million Euros. He has played 23 matches scoring 11 times.

4 TRANSFER OF ZIYECH TO CHELSEA

This is the worst decision taken by the Ajax Management. Ziyech was one of the best players in the Ajax squad. The 27-year-old Moroccan has played 111 matches for Ajax scoring 38 times. He also scored the goal in the semi-final against Tottenham.European clubs were keen to sign him. His perfomance in the Champions League caught attention of other clubs.

On 14 February 2020, it was announced that Ajax and Chelsea had reached an agreement for the transfer of Ziyech for a fee of €40 million (potentially increasing to a maximum of €44 million, with variable factors). The player will join the Premier League club from the 2020–21 season. Ten days later, Chelsea announced they had agreed personal terms with Ziyech and that he had signed five-year contract.

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