Ajax caught plenty off guard when they signed Julian Brandt last summer. Technical director Jordi Cruyff is proud that virtually nobody saw the transfer coming.
After years at Borussia Dortmund, the 30-year-old Brandt was without a club last summer. Ajax snapped him up on a free transfer.
Cruyff was asked on Monday on Rondo on Ziggo Sport which transfer from this summer made him proudest. "If I talk about one, I'm not talking about the others. I don't think that's appropriate," he begins.
"But one I was very happy with was Brandt. The way it happened. Nobody knew anything. Absolutely nobody. I drove to Germany to have a personal conversation with him."
"And that happened to be on a Friday. That's a bit of the week's happy day. People go out for dinner, and then they suddenly get the news that Brandt is coming to Ajax. And they think: hey, we hadn't heard anything about that. How is that possible?"
"I also think it's important for Ajax that we announce something ourselves for once. And that we decide when and how. I just thought that was important," Cruyff concludes.
The German has largely lived up to expectations in Amsterdam, scoring eight goals and providing two assists in 17 competitive appearances for Ajax.