4 Ways Ajax Could Replace Barcelona-bound Frenkie De Jong

Carel Eiting

Carel Eiting could prove to be a dark horse in the race to the spot left by Frenkie De Jong.

If Ajax want to go for a conservative, economic and safe bet, then there isn’t any better option than Carel Eiting. Eiting is a Ajax youth product of Ajax and has developed to become a midfielder of the no-nonsense kind. His close control, vision and passing range are commendable and he is the kind of player any team that likes to dictate the pace of the game would want to have.

Despite his positives, regular injuries and fitness issues have hampered his growth. In the current season, Eiting was out of action for the whole of November with an ankle injury. The Dutchman is once again unavailable, thanks to a knee injury he suffered in January.

His best performance for the senior team was in the Champions League group game against AEK Athens, where he was deployed in a double-pivot alongside Lasse Schone. Eiting orchestrated things from the centre and dictated the pace of the game. He ended the match as the player with most number of touches (114) as well as the player with most passes completed (95). He also had 3 key passes and 3 ball recoveries to his tally, putting in a man-of-the-match performance on his Champions League debut with the senior side.

Although it was unfortunate that Eiting couldn’t convert his form into the next step in his football career owing to the injuries, the opportunity may have just arrived in the form of Frenkie De Jong’s departure to Barcelona. If the Dutchman could step up and put in similar displays at the beginning of the next campaign, then Ten Haag wouldn’t be looking outside of Ajax to get a new engine in the midfield.