Davy Klaassen has revealed a transfer move to Rangers was a non-starter as he broke his silence on returning to Ajax.
The Dutch midfielder, 31, left Inter Milan to sign a one-year deal with the Eredivisie giants.
Klaassen - who has played for Ajax in three different spells - had been linked with Rangers and Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp.
However, the midfielder has insisted he only wanted to sign for Ajax as he opened up on discussions at Inter Milan as the club did not want him to leave.
Klaassen played 22 times for Inter last term as the club won the Serie A title but the Ajaz hero was desperate to return to the Netherlands this summer.
“They didn’t want me to leave," he said of his situation at Inter Milan. "So, I went to the coach and said ‘Coach, I don’t know. I want to go to Ajax, I want to go home.’
“I told him I wanted to leave because I cannot give my all anymore and that is unfair for you too. 'Coach, I just want to go home'."
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Renowned transfer expert Nicolò Schira reports that Klaasen has stated that an offer from Rangers was turned down by Klaassen as he penned a deal with Ajax.
He wrote on X: "Behind The Scenes - Davy #Klaassen has turned down #RangersFC and #RoyalAntwerp bids in the last days to return to #Ajax. #transfers."
Philippe Clement has made no secret of his desire to further improve his squad using the free agent market given the transfer window is now closed.
At the start of the month, the Belgian said: "Yes, we talked about that within the club and that was the initial plan. So we now need to find solutions within the squad to do it in a different way to before.
"Could we still look at free agents? That’s still a possibility, yes. Connor Barron has been filling that role and Dujon Sterling can do it also, as can Niko Raskin.”
