European football awaits to see how Ajax fare after their summer exodus.Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt have both departed for Barcelona and Juventus respectively.While the midfielder's move to Camp Nou was confirmed back in January, de Ligt's transfer was only officially announced last week.The Bianconeri fought off the likes of PSG, Manchester United, and Real Madrid to agree a €75million deal.As for Ajax, they had little choice but to accept the money. Their financial model relies on bringing through promising talent, cashing in, and re-investing.

The Dutch champions have acquired defenders Edson Alvarez and Lisandro Martinez to cope with the loss of their high-profile centre-back, but they may also have another secret weapon up their sleeves in Perr Schuurs.

Despite his tender years, the 19-year-old captained Fortuna Sittard to promotion from the second division and this coming season, it looks as if Ajax are ready to incorporate him into the first team. 

The footage below shows how strong he is on the ball and has great positional awareness, similar to de Ligt. In fact, they're almost exactly the same height too at 6ft 3. 

He has been demonstrating his likeness already in pre-season, most recently in the 2-1 win over Watford. 

Schuurs first made his debut back in October 2018. 

While he isn't strictly an academy graduate, it's fortunate that such a strong youth development policy is in place as there could be more big-name departures to come. 

Hakim Ziyech and Donny van de Beek have both attracted significant attention from elite clubs across the continent. 

Nobody wants to be known as a selling club - something which has so often been levelled at Ajax over the past decade or so, through no fault of their own - but it would seem they are better positioned to cope than most. 

Will Ajax be champions against next season? Have your say in the comments.