Which players have come?
Ajax
Ajax has undergone a facelift. The national champion has received five reinforcements so far and has been unusually generous in spending. Ajax deposited more than 31 million euros for international Steven Bergwijn (Tottenham Hotspur), making it the most expensive Eredivisie player ever.
It was perhaps not even the most striking transfer. The self-trained Brian Brobbey left for RB Leipzig a year ago, but the 20-year-old talent found it difficult to settle in Germany. In the search for a striker, Ajax came to him. Cost: 16.35 million euros.
Or is the British Nigerian Calvin Bassey the most remarkable acquisition? Ajax paid 23 million euros for the 22-year-old central defender of Rangers FC, who has only been playing in that position for eight months. Never before has Ajax invested so much money in a defensive force.
In light of those mega-investments, the arrival of AZ-back and international Owen Wijndal and Portuguese dribbler and youth international Francisco Conceição (FC Porto), who gets time behind Antony to get used to, were hardly noticed.
PSV
Although PSV already got eight players, the most appealing purchase is a veteran. With the capture of Luuk de Jong, the club brought its dreamed striker back to Eindhoven.
De Jong played for PSV for five years from 2014 and over time acquired hero status. He won three league titles with the club before moving to Sevilla for €15 million in 2019. PSV paid around 3 million euros to buy the 31-year-old striker back from the Spanish sub-topper, a pittance compared to the expenses of Ajax. Yet he is PSV’s most expensive purchase.
The international is the new captain of the team that has undergone a major overhaul. In addition to De Jong, PSV surprised by attracting the experienced Argentine goalkeeper Walter Benítez (Nice), the acclaimed talent Xavi Simons (Paris Saint-Germain) and running prodigy Guus Til (Spartak Moscow and Feyenoord).
The 20-year-old talented Dutchman Ki-Jana Hoever (at 16 the youngest debutant ever in the FA Cup for Liverpool), the 20-year-old Englishman Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton) and 18-year-old Brazilian Sávio (Troyes) also came to PSV. . The 38-year-old Boy Waterman is the new third goalkeeper in Eindhoven.
Which players have left?
Ajax
Ajax was able to invest heavily in new forces because it was able to sell a number of players for large sums. The club already earned more than 110 million euros. This was mainly due to the departure of Sébastien Haller and Lisandro Martínez, who together yielded 88 million.
Martínez came over three years ago for 7 million from the Argentinian Defensa y Justicia and left for more than 57 million in the wake of trainer Erik ten Hag to Manchester United. Only two players from the Eredivisie ever made Ajax more money: Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.
Ajax invested considerably more in Haller a year and a half ago (22.5 million). But the club sold the striker, who scored eleven times in the Champions League last season, with a win to Borussia Dortmund: for more than 31 million.
Other prominent departures: Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui went to Bayern Munich, Nicolás Tagliafico to Olympique Lyon and André Onana will play for Internazionale next season.
PSV
One moment he was the architect of PSV with his genius ideas, the next Mario Götzke did not see large parts of the match. After two seasons, the former German child prodigy moved to Eintracht Frankfurt. PSV received 4 million euros for the 63-time German international, who came to Eindhoven on a free transfer in 2020.
The club also collected 8.5 million euros for Japanese Ritsu Doan, who signed with Freiburg after three Eindhoven years. It is the largest transfer fee that PSV received this summer. Israeli striker Eran Zahavi returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv after two years.
In Eindhoven they know that the financial hit can still come, although PSV hopes to tempt Cody Gakpo and Ibrahim Sangaré to stay another year. The price tag for interested clubs? Sangaré has a lump sum of 37 million in his contract. The self-trained Gakpo is said to be worth more than 40 million.
What do the trainers want?
Ajax
With Alfred Schreuder there is a new face for the Ajax group this season, but it may well be that certain game principles from the past few years will return. On his appointment, the 49-year-old trainer from Barneveld said that he broadly wants to continue on the path that Ten Hag has taken with Ajax.
Schreuder was Ten Hag’s assistant in the 2018-2019 season, in which Ajax reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. As head coach, Schreuder – in addition to his tactical qualities often praised for his personal approach – has to make a number of difficult choices in a team that is desperate for a starting spot.
Will Daley Blind play controlling midfield now that Wijndal and Bassey have a left back and left central defender? And what does his ideal three-man vanguard look like with players like Antony, Bergwijn, Tadic and Brobbey? Schreuder has often said that a permanent base team does not exist for him.
PSV
With the appointment of Ruud van Nistelrooij as Roger Schmidt’s successor, almost everything is different at PSV. In addition to fitting in a trio of new players, the vision of the former striker of Manchester United and Real Madrid, among others, differs in many ways from that of his predecessor.
Schmidt’s tactics were based on the opponent’s possession. The German coach wanted to capture the ball as quickly as possible and find the shortest way to the opponent’s goal in the switch. Van Nistelrooij wants to bring more peace to PSV’s game and wishes to create opportunities from a well-maintained structure.
It is especially interesting to see what Van Nistelrooij’s ideal three-man midfield will look like. Last season, Sangaré and Érick Gutiérrez formed a solid block for the defense. But Van Nistelrooij prefers to play with one controlling midfielder. For the two offensive positions he seems to have to choose between Til, Simons and Joey Veerman. Van Nistelrooij: ‘As a trainer you have a vision, but you also look at the qualities of your players to determine your playing style.’
How is it at the top of the clubs?
Ajax
For years, general manager Edwin van der Sar formed a close trinity with technical director Marc Overmars and Erik ten Hag. But after Overmars’ resignation due to transgressive behavior and the departure of Ten Hag, Van der Sar knows a new duo that is responsible for technical policy.
Former coach Gerry Hamstra, who was an assistant to Overmars, and his new right-hand man Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were immediately thrown into the deep end during the largest Ajax renovation in years. The technical duo appointed Schreuder as the new trainer and showed that they are not afraid to spend money.
Ajax is mainly known as a breeding ground for young talent, but this summer the club already spent a record amount (85.6 million) to bring the selection up to standard. Only ten clubs in Europe spent more money than the Amsterdammers, calculated Football International from. Please note: Hamstra and Huntelaar collected 25 million euros more than they spent.
PSV
No one is a guarantee of success, but Marcel Brands must be the man this season who will help bring the title back to Eindhoven after four years. The 60-year-old from Brabant succeeded Toon Gerbrands as general manager, but was attracted in part because of his technical knowledge and infinitely large network.
Brands was responsible for technical policy at PSV for eight years from 2010, before leaving for Everton in 2018 without much success. Together with current technical director John de Jong, his successor four years ago, and coach Van Nistelrooij, PSV want to make a renewed attack on Ajax’s hegemony. “I wanted to be part of this new start,” said Van Nistelrooij, who initially thanked Gerbrands when he approached him.
The European reputation also needs to be cleaned up. PSV reached the group stage of the Champions League only three times in the last thirteen years. The new objective is as clear as it is clear: to compete once every two years in the highest and most lucrative European club tournament, starting with the third qualifying round match against AS Monaco, next Tuesday.
What is the relationship between the two clubs?
Ajax
Just look at the money that Ajax invested this summer (85.6 million) in the selection and add that to the amount that PSV spent (6 million) on new players and it is clear how the proportions are.
Ajax has shown in recent years that it pays to put money into the selection instead of leaving it in the bank. The Amsterdammers dared to take the risk by getting Dusan Tadic and Blind in 2018 and turning the salary house upside down. The move worked, with championships and guaranteed millions from the Champions League as a reward.
PSV
Roger Schmidt was commissioned two seasons ago to bring the title back to Eindhoven. But the German coach was unlucky that he had to do that in an era when Ajax was taking a more offensive course and Ten Hag was the trainer. Now that the coach and Overmars have left and Ajax has to rebuild, PSV feels that now is the time to close the gap.
In fact, technical director De Jong said that PSV does not just want to narrow the gap to Ajax. The club wants to get over the competitor from Amsterdam and thus experience the pleasure of the national title for the first time since 2018.