Do Ajax Have The Best Academy In The World?

After a horrible campaign last season, it looks as if Ajax will reclaim the Eredivisie title this year, as they currently sit nine points ahead of second placed PSV Eindhoven. It hasn’t taken a massive overhaul of squad players or even any major signings to take them back to the summit, just a change in management last year, and some sensible investments into the young players coming though at the club.

Breakout Seasons In Ajax

There have been a number of players who have burst onto the scene with Ajax this season, but none have been quite as important as Mika Godts. The 19 year old Belgian has contributed to 15 goals this season across the league and the Europa League, despite missing some important matches through two separate hamstring injuries. The left winger played a handful of games last campaign, but has started 19 this time around, being used as a substitute in the other six where he was available.

Godts has drawn some interest from across Europe, however he is getting regular first team football at Ajax who have now all but confirmed their qualification for the Champions League next season. Unless he is lured away by a fat paycheck from one of Europe’s elite clubs, I think he will likely stay at Ajax next year.

Mika Godts, the real deal. #ajagae • @coinmerce pic.twitter.com/oCdoq9Mohw

— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) February 25, 2025

Another player who has broken into the Ajax first team this season has been Kian Fitz-Jim. The 21-year-old plays in a much more defensive position than Godts, so he doesn’t quite have the same stats as the Belgian, however he has still made 21 starts in all competitions, 11 coming in the league. Central midfield has been a strong point for Ajax this season, with Jordan Henderson, Davy Klaassen and Kenneth Taylor all having incredible campaigns, so to even be able to break into that position has been impressive.

Current Youth Products In The Ajax Team

As mentioned before, Davy Klaassen is having an excellent season in his third stint at Ajax, having joined the youth set up back in 2004 and having made his senior debut in 2011. He has played across Europe during his career but has never settled down anywhere quite like he did at Ajax, which is probably why he is back there for a third time. This season he hasn’t been quite as prolific as he has in the past, but his experience has certainly helped a rather inexperienced Ajax team.

Kenneth Taylor is another youth product who is having a good season. Taylor joined the club when he was just eight years old, and made his long awaited debut for the first team at just 18 years old in 2020. Since then he has made over 160 appearances for the club, with this year being his most prolific, with 15 goals from central midfield. He is yet to captain the side, but at just 22, he already has all of the attributes of a future leader for the club.

Kenneth Taylor is named Ajax Talent of the Year 💫#ForTheFuture pic.twitter.com/AfgujAAeWM

— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) June 2, 2023

Definitely the most in demand of all of Ajax’s youth products, Jorrel Hato plays as a left back and has made over 100 appearances for the first team, despite being just 19 years old. His performances this season have piqued the interest of Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Arsenal who are all scrambling for the youngster’s signature. When he made his debut in 2023, he became the third youngest league debutant for Ajax behind Ryan Gravenberch and Clarence Seedorf. Despite primarily being a defensive player, Hato has still managed to contribute to eight goals this season, scoring two himself. Liverpool look like they are the frontrunners to capture his signature in the summer, but there is always the possibility that he stays at Ajax to continue his development.

The Best Ajax Products In History

Ajax’s great academy hasn’t been something that has suddenly started to gain prominence in the last few years, but something that has been around for over half a century. Some of the best attacking players in history started their careers out at Ajax. Johan Cruyff is the obvious one, as he joined the club when he was just 10 years old before making his first team debut at 17. He made nearly 250 appearances for the club before he joined Barcelona. In total, he scored 400 career goals and is generally considered to be one of the best footballers of all time.

Other Ajax academy graduates include Dennis Bergkamp, who scored 122 times for Ajax before leaving for Inter and then Arsenal, and Patrick Kluivert, who helped Ajax to the Champions League title in 1995. Combined, they have over 470 goals throughout their careers, and became legends in the Premier League and La Liga respectively.

Dennis Bergkamp scoring a brilliant goal against Real Madrid, 1992. pic.twitter.com/jrWhXhHdDZ

— 90s Football (@90sfootball) April 9, 2025

More recent academy products include the class of 2019, when the club managed to reach the Champions League semi-finals, an achievement that shocked the footballing world. The two most important players in that squad were both young academy graduates in Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt. Except that’s what people think. While De Ligt did progress through the club’s academy, joining at the age of eight, De Jong didn’t sign for the club in any way until he was 18 years old. He played for the Jong Ajax team before making his senior debut for them, so technically he counts as an academy graduate, but I don’t buy it.

This tends to happen when big clubs sign unknown young players. The same has happened at Barcelona, who signed Pedri from Las Palmas when he was 17, and Pablo Torre from Racing Santander. Other recent Ajax academy graduates include Jurrien Timber, who joined at the age of 13, and Ryan Gravenberch, who joined aged just eight.

Which Other Club’s Have Profitable Academies?

In the last 10 years, the club that has had the most profitable academy has been Benfica, but that statistic has been inflated by the ridiculous fee paid by Atletico Madrid to sign Joao Felix, who has yet to live up to the price tag. Ajax come second in that list, having sold 36 academy graduates between 2013-2023.

🇳🇱 Last night Ajax fielded 8 players aged 22 or under, 6 in the starting 11. They knocked out three-time consecutive European champions Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu

Who said you can't win anything with kids? 👀 pic.twitter.com/akFFKLx04c

— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) March 6, 2019

The Premier League are represented in the top 10 by Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City while the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG, Juventus and Inter Milan are all beaten out by the surprise inclusions of Lyon, Monaco and Atalanta. Their top two sales in that period were both academy graduates as Dejan Kulusevski joined Juventus and Alessandro Bastoni moved to Inter Milan.