In-demand Ajax defender Jorrel Hato has reaffirmed his love for his current club in the face of significant transfer interest in his services.
19-year-old Hato, comfortable both at centre-back and left-back, has already made over 100 appearances for the Amsterdam outfit and became the club’s youngest-ever captain when we wore the armband in a Europa League outing in December 2023.
A regular starter for both club and country, Hato’s form has attracted interest from a number of top sides. Indeed, Premier League giants Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are all known to be keen to land the Dutch international.
Hato, however, does not appear to be in a rush to leave his current side, admitting he feels at home with Ajax.
“The smartest thing is to look at it per season,” he told club media when asked what the 2025–26 campaign will hold. “That's what I do. Of course you want to achieve things in the end: the Champions League, a World Cup and a European Championship.
“I still have plenty of time. I don’t think, ‘I absolutely have to win the Champions League in two years’.
“In the Dutch league you have to show how good you are against the big clubs. Ultimately I have to continue to develop the things I am already good at, so that it becomes top.
“How do I describe my time at Ajax? Ajax is home for me. I just feel at home here.”
Hato signed a new contract with Ajax in 2024 to tie himself to the club for a further four years, meaning the Eredivisie giants are under no pressure to entertain offers from Europe’s elite at this point.
Any interested sides are expected to have to pay well over £40 million ($54.3 million) to convince Ajax to sell a player who was named the best Under-21 player in the Dutch top flight last season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘I Feel at Home’—Wonderkid Hands Transfer Blow to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool.
