Ajax’ Riechedly Bazoer Becomes One of Hottest Prospects in Europe

The midfielder of Ajax Riechedly Bazoer, who has already become a regular of his side, has been reported as a transfer target for both Barcelona and Arsenal.

The player, who is now 19 years old, started his career at USV Elinkwijk, but got spotted by a PSV Eindhoven’s scout. After spending six years in their academy, Bazoer happened to dislike the fact he has been categorized as a central defender, so he chose to start looking for another club to join to.

This is how he entered the ranks of Ajax after turning down interest from Manchester City and this was undoubtedly a great choice, because the decision he made definitely worked out for him. Currently, the team of Ajax occupies the first position on the Eredivisie table.

As initially hoped, Bazoer has soon managed to become attractive to the first-team staff of Ajax thanks to his performances in the youngsters team, with the latter’s then-coach Alfons Groenendijk discussing his progress with Ajax’ head coach Frank de Boer on a regular basis. The player entered the first-team’s pre-season’s preparations for the 2013/2014 season.

The official debut of Bazoer happened a year later. He entered the field as part of the first-team staff of Ajax on October 2014 and took part in the club’s match against Urk as part of the Dutch Cup competition. The game ended 4-1 in favour of Ajax, and was followed by a series of impressive performances of the midfielder, which earned a regular spot of Bazoer, then 18 years old, in the team’s starting eleven.

The player’s first goal for Ajax was scored in February this year, and has then signed a new deal with the Eredivisie No.1 team until April 2020.

In spite of several performances of his, which were a bit under the expectations, Bazoer has had an impressive action over the current campaign when entering the field as first-choice. The great work of the midfielder was rewarded in October 2015, when he was called up to the Netherlands national football team for the first time.

In November this year he made several brief debuts as a late substitute in the 3-2 friendly game against Wales. Previously, the player was part of the national Under-15 team.

Undoubtedly, Bazoer impresses with his talent and versatility at the midfielder position. In addition, he owns a mixture of physical and technical skills that provide him with the opportunity to give his contribution to all aspects of the game. Bazoer also does a great work in collaboration with his team-mates, not to mention his intelligent positioning an movement over the field.

All of this makes the 19-year-old midfielder a highly versatile player. He has been playing as a centre-back and a full-back, but still, it seems that it is the midfielder role that suits him best. Moreover, his young age suggests that he is certainly to improve in future. If provided with enough game time and regular development at Ajax, he has all the chances of becoming one of the best in Europe.