Erik ten Hag has been warned he will not be able to raid Ajax of all their top stars - unless Manchester United are willing to stump up the cash.
The Dutch boss has already cherry-picked defender Lisandro Martinez from his former employers in a deal worth £57million and has been linked with several other Ajax players. Winger Antony and defender Jurrien Timber are two names on United's radar as Ten Hag is keen to reunite with the stars who served him well in Amsterdam.
But despite cashing in on Martinez, Ajax technical director Gerry Hamstra has insisted the club are not in a position to allow all of their key players to depart. “We really didn’t want to lose Martínez, but with such high transfer amounts everyone understands how it works," Hamstra admitted to Dutch publication AD.
Having already sold Sebastien Haller to Borussia Dortmund and Ryan Gravenberch to Bayern Munich this summer, Ajax have reinvested in signing Steven Bergwijn from Tottenham and Calvin Bassey from Rangers, along with Owen Wijndal from AZ Alkmaar. Ajax are also expected to get a deal over the line to sign Brian Brobbey permanently after his successful loan stint, despite interest from United in the RB Leipzig striker.
Yet the chances of the Dutch giants allowing both Antony and Timber to move on as well, appear slim, particularly with the latter expected to sign a new contract. "We all have our ambitions at Ajax,” Hamstra continued. "Then six starting players can’t suddenly leave either.
"Only this year we had to deal with a combination of circumstances. The one-on-one replacements cost more than the guys you get to grow a year behind someone."
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United may have been boosted in their hopes of signing Antony, however, with Ajax poised to sign 19-year-old Francisco Conceicao from Porto - who is deemed a long-term replacement, while Bergwijn is also a right-sided attacker.
Hamstra explained how Ajax are keen to replace any of their starting players with ready-made alternatives, although it is unclear whether they consider Conceicao at the level needed to fill in for Antony immediately or in the years to come, despite conceding he was the heir in waiting.
"So, Conceicao is another example of bringing the successor, in this case Antony, into your selection," he told Het Parool. “We now want to keep this group together. I assume that no one leaves this core anymore. Of course, you can never say never, I’ve learned that by now.”
It comes as Hamstra conceded to AD that Ajax only agreed to let Martinez go due to the size of the fee United were willing to pay and after failing with their attempts to convince him to stay. “The ideal [scenario] would have been if we had someone standing behind Lisandro, and Lisandro had stayed another year."
That raises the prospect of Antony departing in the near future - possibly next summer, although United may have to pay over the odds if they want to land his services this summer.
It seems United's interest in Antony and Timber has been put on ice for the time being anyhow while they continue to try and prise ex-Ajax star Frenkie De Jong from Barcelona. Ten Hag sees the 25-year-old as the ideal addition to strengthen his midfield but De Jong is reluctant to swap the Camp Nou for Old Trafford.
Should United be successful in their pursuit, it will likely use up the lion's share of Ten Hag's summer transfer kitty, with an initial fee of £63million already said to have been agreed between the clubs. Ten Hag has also already revealed he is prioritising reinforcements in defence and midfield over signing a forward, though Cristiano Ronaldo's situation could change that.
Ronaldo is pushing to leave United after the club failed to qualify for the Champions League this season, but is yet to receive any concrete interest from viable suitors. Ten Hag has insisted Ronaldo is part of his plans for the season ahead and is not for sale, though the Portuguese striker is yet to return to the club for pre-season training after pulling out of United's tour of Asia due to 'family reasons'.
