Can Ajax Reclaim The Eredivisie Title?

Everyone knows that last season was a horrific campaign for Ajax, as they finished fifth, but started off in terrible form. After 10 matches, they were 17th in the league, but a solid second half of the season saw them climb a few places. This season started off better, but they were still some way off the league leaders PSV as recently as December. However a good run of form from the Amsterdam based side, and a stuttering run from the league leaders, has seen Ajax leapfrog them in the table and put themselves in a strong position to win the league.

What Went Wrong Last Season?

There were a number of issues last season that caused such a terrible start to their season, but first of all we need to look at the top. Both the Director of Football Sven Mislintat and the Manager Maurice Steijn were fired midway through the season and Ajax’s form subsequently improved. Steijn had been appointed in the summer from Sparta Rotterdam after he had led the club to a remarkable sixth placed finish in the league, but it was obvious that the step up was too much.

Ajax lost a large number of key players in the summer before the 2023/24 season began, which made it difficult for them in the league. In one transfer window, they lost Jurrien Timber, Dusan Tadic, Calvin Bassey, Edson Alvarez, Mohammed Kudus and Davy Klaassen. All of these players had been key for Ajax and have since gone on to perform well for their new clubs with the exception of Klaassen who flopped at Inter Milan and is now back with Ajax.

🇳🇱🇬🇪Georges Mikautadze has been an unused sub for Ajax for the past 3 matches.

Oh boy...😕 pic.twitter.com/X9mqWtlgQl

— Georgian Footy (@GeorgianFooty) October 5, 2023

In combination with their high profile departures, Ajax made quite a few poor decisions in the transfer market in terms of bringing new players into the club. Of the 15 players that they signed during last season, just five are still at the club, with their second most expensive signing in that period, Georges Mikautadze playing just nine times for them, costing them roughly £1.8m per appearance.

What Has Changed?

The biggest change to Ajax this season has been their new head coach Francesco Farioli. He joined from Nice after a respectable but short stint in Turkey. The Italian head coach favours a possession based style of football, and given that Ajax are one of the better teams in the Netherlands, this helps them against the teams that tend to sit off them. Since he took over in May of last year, he has boasted a 70% win rate as Ajax now sit at the top of the Eredivisie.

It is important to note that Farioli has been incredibly shrewd in the transfer windows since he has taken charge, bringing in just a few players that he has needed rather than splashing the cash of a significant number of unnecessary players. On top of that, he has offloaded a lot of players that he has deemed unfit for his style of play, with a total of 28 either leaving permanently or on loan.

Iconic, Kenneth Taylor. pic.twitter.com/bO8smkthNH

— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) February 3, 2025

With the return of Davy Klaassen to the club, Farioli has emphasised the importance of his squad’s midfield. He tends to run a midfield three of Klaassen, Kenneth Taylor and Jordan Henderson, a mature middle of the park that has outperformed almost all of their counterparts in the Eredivisie. Taylor has been especially impressive this season, with 10 goals in all competitions making him the club’s top scorer.

What Next For Ajax?

Following their comfortable 2-0 win this week against Union Saint-Gilloise in the UEFA Europa League, Ajax have all but confirmed their participation in the Round of 16. This means that they could still win two pieces of silverware this season, despite being knocked out of the KNVB Cup in the Round of 16 by AZ Alkmaar. They aren’t home and dry by any means in the Eredivisie, as PSV are level on points with them, albeit having played one more game. The two sides face each other at the end of March, and should Ajax win that encounter, they should win the league. If they lose however, it will make the last two months of the season very interesting.