Ajax got an answer from Osasuna on Monday evening to their opening bid for Enzo Boyomo, AS reports. The Amsterdam club proposed signing the 24-year-old Cameroon international on loan for the rest of the season with an option to buy. Osasuna immediately rejected it because the LaLiga club will only consider a permanent sale.
Two years ago, Osasuna signed Boyomo from Real Valladolid for €5.5 million and now want to make a significant profit on his departure. The club are targeting a fee of slightly more than half of his limited release clause of €25 million. With the nine-cap international yet to play a single minute in LaLiga this season, a move away from Pamplona is up for discussion.
Should he move to Amsterdam, Boyomo would work with Míchel Sánchez, who knows him well from Spain, where the defender has been playing for six years.
After the match against Telstar, the Ajax manager had already spoken openly about the need for defensive reinforcements. The departures of Ko Itakura, Josip Sutalo and Ahmetcan Kaplan have left a major void at the back.
So far, only the experienced Daley Blind has strengthened the Amsterdam club's defence this summer. At his press conference, Míchel stressed that players still need to be added in several areas. "I think we still need a winger, a centre-back and possibly a midfielder," the manager said.
Ajax are primarily looking for another option on the right side of central defence alongside the young Aaron Bouwman. Míchel said his side sometimes lack a bit of experience in build-up play in key situations. "It may be that we need more experience in some matches," the Spanish coach indicated.