UPFROnT
RYAn
GRAVEnBERCH
22 July 2022 FourFourTwo
INTERVIEW
You’ve been at Ajax since joining the
youth academy in 2010 – what are
your early memories?
Great times. We had a talented team,
with a lot of players who have reached
a high level - that under-eights team
consisted of players like Brian Brobbey
[back on loan at Ajax from RB Leipzig
this season], Ki-Jana Hoever [Wolves],
Kenneth Taylor [Ajax], Jayden Braaf
[Manchester City], Donny Warmerdam
[Jong Ajax], Jordi Blom [Volendam],
Djenahro Nunumete [Heerenveen] and
Nouri Cheung [Vitesse]. As a group we
were really close – our parents would
accompany us to the games and also
tournaments abroad. I’m just thinking
of one we played in the Czech Republic,
which we won. Very fond memories.
You were regarded as one of the big
talents in the Ajax academy. How did
that feel at the time?
It’s very nice when people see you as
a talented player – that didn’t give me
any pressure, I was just enjoying my
football and not thinking too far ahead.
The moment I realised I had a chance
to make it professionally came when
I moved from the U15s to the U17s –
I jumped up not one, but two teams.
Few youngsters get to experience that.
Did you have offers from other clubs?
When I was 15, Paris Saint-Germain
were keen on signing me. RB Leipzig
also wanted me, and there were other
teams who displayed a bit of interest.
But I wasn’t seriously considering it –
Still, you made your first-team debut
early in 2018-19, becoming Ajax’s
youngest ever player aged 16 years
and 130 days and breaking Clarence
Seedorf’s record. Were you annoyed
that you didn’t play another league
match that season?
Not really. Of course I wanted to play,
but if you look at the team that season,
they won the league and reached the
semi-finals of the Champions League.
It’s tricky to play a young guy like me
over Frenkie de Jong. I get on with Ten
Hag, and if you look back, his choices
were pretty good, like playing me in the
second team that year. I played every
game and improved my overall ability.Your Champions League debut came
against Liverpool in 2020, when you
began to get noticed more...
Yes, we played Liverpool and Atalanta
in the group. You’re already feeling like
you want to prove yourself on that big
stage, and if it turns out the way it did
against Liverpool, that’s fantastic. After
the game I led on my bed in the hotel,
reflecting on everything. To begin with,
I actually thought I hadn’t played that
well, but when I watched the footage
I was satisfied.I wanted to break through at Ajax and
stay there for several years, then make
a potential move abroad.How did you eventually progress to
Ajax’s first team?
When I was 15 I played in the U18s,
and at the end of that season I was
invited for a training session with the
first team. Justin Kluivert was there,
who I knew from the academy, and he
made me feel at ease. Hakim Ziyech
did too. That session went well – it was
a high level, but I showed that I could
compete. After that, I signed my first
professional deal and joined the first
team on a pre-season training camp.How did you feel?
I was quite rushed. I hadn’t played any
games in the reserves, but I wanted to
feature for the first team and was sureI was ready for it. But when I spoke to
the manager, Erik ten Hag, he told me
I had to improve in a number of areas,
and that I wasn’t 100 per cent ready.
In the academy we usually played with
one defensive midfielder, whereas Ten
Hag used a No.10 and two players in
a No.6 six role just behind – so I had to
get used to that setup. The attacking
side of my game went down well, but
I had to improve the defensive part –
he insisted on it, that I had to become
more reliable. I also required work on
my movement and tackles.The Dutch midfielder is
one of Europe’s hottest
prospects, after Erik ten
Hag made him Ajax’s
youngest ever debutant