The busiest name in the transfer rumor mill that’s coming from Ajax is Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld, who has been linked to a number of clubs this summer, and it seems his involvement in summer dealing isn’t over, with Arsenal being the most recent club to show some interest.
The reports coming from the Netherlands suggest that as Arsene Wenger has less and less time to complete the quality signings he has promised. Alderweireld wouldn’t be an automatic starter on a team with Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker in the stating lineup while Thomas Vermaelen is waiting for his chance to come off the bench and regain his starter status.
Alderweireld does have his contract run out at the end of the season, which means you’d expect Ajax to be a bit more stressed out about the possibility of him leaving for nothing. They’ve been asking for €7 million, but the most recent club to show some interest, Atletico Madrid, weren’t willing to pay that much money.
Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen and Norwich have also been involved in one way or another, but Alderweireld himself doesn’t seem to mind remaining at Ajax for now, maybe because they offer Champions League football and he feels that this might be the season in which they finally break through the group stage ceiling which has been in their way for a very long time.
Arsenal are of bigger caliber than the previous clubs showing interest in the player, but just like in the previous inquiries about his availability, both Ajax and the player himself might not be that enthusiastic about breaking up a good thing for now, especially with the transfer window ending so soon, and Ajax not having an option to bring in someone of the same quality, even from their own ranks.