Valentijn Driessen cannot understand why Ajax signed Viktor Tsygankov. The Ukrainian right winger arrived in Amsterdam on manager Míchel Sánchez's recommendation, but has made little impression, according to the De Telegraaf journalist. What baffles Driessen most is that the Spanish coach had known the forward for years from their time together at Girona.
In the Kick-off podcast, Driessen questions Ajax's recruitment after their embarrassing 2-1 Conference League defeat to Hajduk Split. He singles out Tsygankov, whom Míchel knew well. "He worked with this Ukrainian for three years," the journalist notes.
That familiarity makes Ajax's decision to spend money on the forward even harder for Driessen to understand. "When you see how lifeless he is... He shows no initiative whatsoever, absolutely none," is his damning verdict. "Then you think: they paid money for him again." Ajax reportedly paid €4 million for the 28-year-old right winger.
For Driessen, Tsygankov's struggles point to a bigger problem at Ajax. The club changed course completely last summer. Under Jordi Cruyff's leadership, Ajax brought in several experienced internationals on high salaries and placed much less emphasis on their own academy and the Dutch league. "They only looked abroad, at experienced players who would make an immediate impact," Driessen says.
Marcos Leonardo's arrival has done little to impress him 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 brings money back from there, and Ajax go there to spend it," Driessen sneers.
Despite integrating many new players in recent months, Ajax still lack a recognisable team, Driessen argues. "I think seven or eight of the players who played yesterday were signed last summer. They had never played together before and often don't even speak the same language," Driessen says.
Driessen believes Ajax's 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 talented youngsters. They bought what they did not already have, and that was often two or three players, no more," says the journalist, who describes the current squad as a "complete foreign legion".