Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and any other clubs sniffing around the likes of Andre Onana and Donny van de Beek have been warned by Edwin van der Sar, Ajax’s chief executive, that there will be no “50 per cent discount” handed out by the Dutch side.
Those in Amsterdam are bracing themselves for another flurry of bids when it comes to their most prized assets.
Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt were offloaded to Barcelona and Juventus respectively in 2019, while a deal has already been put in place that will take Hakim Ziyech to Stamford Bridge in the next window.
There could be more sales to sanction, with Onana and Van de Beek attracting interest from across Europe, but Van der Sar has warned any suitors of those currently on his books that no transfers will be pushed through at cut-price rates.
The former goalkeeper told Reuters: “In January last year, people said we were going to lose seven or eight players but we lost only two key members.
“The big clubs such as Bayern Munich have said the benchmark fee will go down in the next few transfer windows, but it’s easier for them to say because they are the buyers.
“Of course, the €150 to 200 million transfers are gone, but I think there is still a lot of value for players who come from Ajax. Well educated, experienced in winning and playing European football.
“Last year, we made verbal agreements with Onana, [Nicolas] Tagliafico, Van de Beek to stay another season and then we look to help each other and find the next step in their careers. Nothing has changed. There won’t be a 50% discount. The clubs can forget about that.”
Chelsea and Barcelona have been linked with moves to add highly-rated goalkeeper Onana to their ranks, with the 24-year-old Cameroon international a product of the famed La Masia academy system in Catalunya.
Van de Beek, meanwhile, is said to be of interest to United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus, with the Netherlands international midfielder another with plenty of potential still to unlock at 23 years of age.