Valentijn Driessen sees a huge transfer flop at Ajax: ‘It’s no good at all...’

Valentijn Driessen cannot understand why Ajax signed Viktor Tsygankov. The Ukrainian right winger arrived in Amsterdam on the recommendation of coach Míchel Sánchez, but the De Telegraaf journalist says he has made little impression. That recommendation baffles Driessen because the Spanish coach had known the forward for years from their time together at Girona.

On the Kick-off podcast, Driessen questions Ajax's transfer policy after their embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Hajduk Split in the Conference League. Tsygankov is his prime example. "He worked with this Ukrainian for three years," the journalist points out.

That familiarity makes Ajax's decision to spend money on the forward all the more baffling to Driessen. "When you see how lifeless he is... He shows no initiative whatsoever, nothing at all," he says. "Then you think: they paid money for him." Ajax reportedly paid €4 million for the 28-year-old right winger.

For Driessen, the criticism of Tsygankov reflects a wider problem at Ajax, who changed course completely last summer. Under Jordi Cruyff, they brought in several experienced internationals on high salaries and placed much less emphasis on their own youth academy and the Dutch league. "They only looked abroad, at experienced players who could make an immediate impact," Driessen says.

Marcos Leonardo's arrival has failed to impress Driessen either. Ajax signed him for almost €20 million. "They paid money for him. Ajax are the only club in the world taking money to Saudi Arabia. Everyone else only takes money out of there, and Ajax go and take money in," Driessen sneers.

In recent months, Ajax have had to integrate many new players, Driessen points out, yet they still lack a recognisable team. "I think seven or eight of the players who played yesterday were brought in last summer. They had never played together before and often don't even speak the same language," he says.

Driessen believes Ajax's current transfer policy is taking them further from the formula that brought success in the past. "When have Ajax had good periods? When they had a core of Ajax players, alongside a number of outstanding young talents. They bought whatever they didn't have, and that was often two or three players, no more," says the journalist, who describes the current squad as a "complete foreign legion".