‘Ajax must say goodbye to Tadic despite fantastic stats’
NOS Football–
Van Hooijdonk: ‘Ajax should not continue with Tadic’
It’s a lost season for Ajax and this summer, according to Pierre van Hooijdonk, things need to be shaken up in Amsterdam. What to do with captain Dusan Tadic “I wouldn’t continue with him,” Van Hooijdonk says in Studio Football. “That sounds harsh, because he has fantastic stats.”
The 34-year-old Tadic is also the premier league’s most valuable player this season with 18 assists and nine goals. He has a contract until mid-2024. After his active career he will continue at Ajax as a youth coach or assistant with the first, that is already fixed. Only the question is when the Serb wants to put a point behind his career.
“I want to play soccer as long as my body listens to me. And the body is listening to me very well at the moment,” Tadic said last month. “Besides that, I have to stay hungry. That’s also one of the most important things. If you don’t have that anymore…”
‘Just say he’s going to play less, then it’s solved’
The question is also whether Tadic himself still sees a future at Ajax. He missed a clear vision at his dream club last year. “The project has to be right,” he said.
If it were up to Van Hooijdonk, Tadic would leave this summer, despite an ongoing contract: “You have to say to Tadic: go play in America for two more years or with Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia. Then come back and become a trainer.”
Rafael van der Vaart doesn’t think it’s necessary to send Tadic away: “There’s no need for that, is there? Just tell him he’s going to play less. The question is whether he can do that. At some point you have to resign yourself to playing less. I had that too. Then it’s resolved. “
Ibrahim Afellay concurs: “The club management should sit down with him and clearly state that he should settle for a role with less playing time.”
“Then it’s not resolved in the dressing room,” Van Hooijdonk says. “That’s where he plays an important role. When you stop playing, that respect disappears. That’s already playing out now. Saturday there will be a lot of changes, but Tadic will stay put.”
Watch excerpts on Jasper Cillessen and Quinten Timber below. Also check out the regular column The Wall Layer about Lionel Messi (by Hugo Borst).
