.png?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
Mika Godts may have played his last match for Ajax on Thursday night. The Belgian has reached a personal agreement with Paris Saint-Germain and is now waiting for the clubs to negotiate. Captain Davy Klaassen would rather he stayed.
Godts impressed, especially in the first half of Ajax v Shelbourne (3-1). His flamboyant touches suggested he was even more eager than usual to put himself on show, which appears linked to PSG's concrete interest.
With 15 minutes left against the Irish side, Godts made way and took his time to thank the applauding crowd. Goalkeeper Maarten Paes was among those clapping, which suggests he too is seriously considering the departure of his 21-year-old team-mate.
"Stay!" Klaassen replies without hesitation when asked 'what he would say to Godts after today'. "Of course. We want to have the strongest team possible and we would like to keep Mika with us."
Asked what Godts would say, Klaassen laughs. "What would he say? Then he'll laugh, I think," Klaassen laughs. "Those are things he has to decide for himself. We very much want him to stay with us, that is clear," Klaassen said.
For Klaassen, it was a special evening as he wore the Ajax shirt for the 400th time in an official match. "It is a nice milestone," Klaassen responds drily. "But I don't think I'm going to catch Sjakie any more." Sjakie Swart stands on 603 appearances for Ajax.
Still, Klaassen was critical of the display against Shelbourne. "I do think it has to be better. This is of course not really a benchmark in terms of the opponent, but regardless of the opponent we have to produce something better," said Mister 1-0.
Although Ajax were far too strong for Shelbourne, the Amsterdam side did not kill the tie early. Shelbourne even scored and will still hope for an upset next Thursday at Tolka Park.