I have no idea how Ajax found me. I hadn’t played any good matches’

Diego Pugno is delighted to be at Ajax, but the Italian striker has no idea how Jordi Cruyff found him, he tells Ajax Life.

Last summer, Ajax signed Pugno on loan from Juventus and secured an option to buy the Italian forward.

The 20-year-old striker never expected to move to Ajax that summer. "My agent was astonished too. I hadn't even put together a run of good matches. I have no idea how Ajax came across me," he says.

"Still, I was delighted when Ajax called. I knew straight away, with 100 per cent certainty, that I wanted to go there. It's not as though I followed the Eredivisie closely, but everyone knows this club," he continues.

Pugno particularly remembers Ajax reaching the Champions League semi-finals under Erik ten Hag in 2018/19. "My generation knows that season all too well, partly because they knocked my club Juventus out in sensational fashion…"

In nine appearances for Jong Ajax, Pugno has scored five goals and provided two assists.