Jordi Cruyff on Ajax’s Rebuild: No Risk in Strategy

Ajax have just come through one of the most demanding transfer windows in their recent history. The outcome? A squad rebuilt around heavyweight names and a sporting director doubling down on the club’s identity.

Marc-André ter Stegen, Sofyan Amrabat and Julian Brandt all chose Amsterdam. Not for a farewell tour. For a project.

“You see it in their eyes”

Speaking to ESPN NL, sporting director Jordi Cruyff underlined one thing above all: Ajax still carries weight.

“When you mention the name Ajax, you can see from their eyes that they are very interested,” he said. For him, the badge still opens doors in dressing rooms filled with players who want trophies now, not in three years’ time.

“We have to get back to the top. Senior players want to compete and perform at their peak right now.”

That urgency has shaped the entire window. Ajax did not just plug gaps; they went after established internationals and sold them a vision of immediate relevance, not a slow rebuild.

Brandt, the secret deal

Cruyff also lifted the lid on his own way of doing business. Less spreadsheet, more handshake.

He spoke about focusing on “individual human connections” with targets instead of leaning solely on tactical diagrams and data presentations. It is old-school in a market obsessed with metrics, but it delivered one of the club’s standout moves of the summer.

Julian Brandt’s arrival, Cruyff admitted, was his favourite moment of the window. Not because of the name alone, but because of how it was done.

The club conducted negotiations in complete secrecy. No leaks, no hints, no drawn-out saga. Then, on a quiet Friday evening, Ajax dropped the announcement.

“For once, we as a club showed that we determine when information comes out,” Cruyff said. It was a small victory in an era where transfer stories often break before the paperwork is even printed.

He then reached for a line from his legendary father, Johan Cruyff: “If you don’t shoot, you will never score. Sometimes you just have to try.” The Brandt deal, in his eyes, was exactly that — a calculated shot from distance.

Free agents, loans and the money question

Outside the club, the debate has raged around the wage bill and the structure of these deals. High-profile arrivals usually mean high salaries, and critics have questioned whether Ajax are stretching themselves.

Cruyff pushed back hard.

“This is not risky at all,” he insisted. For him, the real danger lies elsewhere: “The biggest risk is paying expensive transfer fees from club to club.”

Ajax’s strategy this summer leaned heavily on free transfers and loan deals. Eight of the eleven new signings arrived without a transfer fee or on temporary terms. That, Cruyff argued, gives Ajax room to breathe. If a move fails, they are not stuck with a massive sunk cost on the balance sheet.

He also pointed out a key financial pillar: sales revenue has far outstripped expenditure. Even without Champions League income, he stressed that the books remain healthy.

The message was clear. Ajax are gambling, yes, but not in the way people think.

Accepting the talent drain

Of course, there is another side to Ajax’s reality. The club that attracts big names also loses bright young ones.

Cruyff did not hide from that. He acknowledged the departure of Mika Godts to Paris Saint-Germain as part of a broader pattern. The Eredivisie, he said, functions as a springboard to Europe’s elite, and Ajax sit at the heart of that ecosystem.

Losing a talent hurts. It always does in Amsterdam. But Cruyff framed it as the cost of doing business in a league where the biggest sharks swim elsewhere.

Eyes on De Topper

Now the theory meets the pitch.

Ajax’s radically reshaped squad is about to face its first major examination in De Topper against PSV. On one side, a PSV team built on continuity and stability. On the other, an Ajax side stitched together in one intense summer, carrying both expectation and intrigue.

Cruyff knows the contrast.

He acknowledged PSV’s established stability but refused to lower the bar for Ajax. The target is not modest progress; it is silverware.

“We have taken a big step in the right direction,” he said. “Our job now is to prove it tangibly on the pitch.”

The window is closed. The talking is almost done. The question now is simple: will this bold, high-profile rebuild drag Ajax back to the top, or expose just how unforgiving that climb has become?