Highlights

• Ajax's recent struggles, including a low league finish and relegation zone position, have led to the sacking of manager Maurice Steijn.
• The article highlights talented players who have left Ajax, including Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, and suggests that the team would be stronger if they had retained these players.
• The current performances of former Ajax players at other clubs vary, with some players, such as Antony, underperforming at Manchester United, while others have had more successful stints at other clubs.

Ajax are one of the most revered football clubs in the sport's history. After all, they are four-time European champions and have given the world some of the greatest ever players. Indeed, the likes of Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Edwin van der Sar, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Ronald Koeman, Frank Rijkaard and many others all lit up Dutch football at various stages in the past.

However, things have not been going so well of late. After all, after losing manager Erik ten Hag to Manchester United, Ajax finished third in Eredivisie last season – their lowest league finish since 2008/09. If that seems bad enough, their fans must be in a state of shock right now. Seven games into the current campaign, and they sit 17th in the division, with just one point keeping them from the very foot of the table.

Unsurprisingly, manager Maurice Steijn has been sacked after the disastrous start. He leaves Dutch giants in the relegation zone, with just one Eredivisie win to their name so far – coming back in August – making for the club's worst run of results since 1954. Perhaps the club could be doing a little better off right now had they not offloaded a number of talented stars in recent times. With that in mind, GIVEMESPORT has compiled a starting XI that they could have fielded today had they clung to their biggest talents.

Goalkeeper - André Onana

He may well have made a rather underwhelming start to life as a Manchester United player, but Onana is still one of the best goalkeepers in Europe right now. After all, he enjoyed a fantastic season with Inter Milan last term, keeping eight clean sheets in 11 games as his side made it all the way to the Champions League final. Consequently, he sealed a £47.2m summer move to England and has also been nominated for the 2023 Yashin Trophy.

The 27-year-old played 214 times for the Amsterdam outfit – keeping 85 clean sheets and winning the league on three different occasions. He only left Ajax in the summer of 2022 and after just one season in Italy now faces a new challenge at Man United. As mentioned before, it's been a difficult time for him at Old Trafford so far but things would be even more complicated if he was still playing for the Dutch club it seems.

Right-back - Jurrien Timber

It's safe to say Ajax are really missing the quality of Timber right now. Last season, he played 47 times for them in all competitions and was ever-present in the league. While he played mostly at centre-back, we've put him in at right-back to slot into this XI.

To be fair, he had been playing at fullback for Arsenal in the early stages of his career after his £38m move to north London in the summer. However, after starting the Community Shield and the opening Premier League game of the season at left-back, Timber sadly suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and will miss the bulk of the season now.

Centre-back - Toby Alderweireld

There are no two ways about it, Alderweireld was one of the best defenders in the Premier League during his six-year spell with Spurs. He played 236 times for Tottenham and was part of the team which made the Champions League final after beating Ajax in the semi-finals.

He never did win a trophy while in north London though but did enjoy major success last season. Indeed, the defender netted a 94th-minute screamer to win the Belgian title with boyhood club Royal Antwerp. Remarkably, this was their first league triumph since 1957. He may be 34 but it's clear Alderweireld is still capable of performing to a pretty high standard.

Centre-back - Matthijs de Ligt

De Ligt was still only a teenager when he captained Ajax all the way to the semi-final of the Champions League in 2018/19, even scoring in the infamous 3-2 home collapse against Spurs which cost his team a spot in the final. At that stage, the future looked so bright for both player and club.

That summer, however, the youngster sealed a big-money move to Juventus which never really played out as he would have hoped. In 2022, he then joined Bayern Munich but hasn't fully convinced there either. Still only 24, he has plenty of time to live up to his potential but perhaps he would have been better served developing at Ajax for a little while longer before moving on.

Left-back - Lisandro Martínez

Like Timber, Martínez could also play at centre-back but thanks to the excellent Total Football schooling he got at Ajax, he could just as happily slot in at left-back – and so fits there for this XI. The Argentine played 120 times for the Dutch team before joining Man United.

He actually followed Ten Hag across to Old Trafford in the same summer and after a shaky start to life in England, Martínez settled down and helped the club win the Carabao Cup and qualify for the Champions League. He likely won't be the last player to move between the clubs but he's quite possibly the most successful in the last few years – although it's a low bar.

Central midfield - Frenkie de Jong

The metronomic presence in Ajax's Champions League semi-final of 2018/19 was always going to be a shoo-in for this team. After all, he proved himself capable of performing at the highest level back then and is probably the one player to live up to the hype since.

Indeed, he sealed a move to Barcelona for £65m in the summer of 2019 and while it hasn't always been plain sailing, he is now a key part of Xavi's plans. Yes, despite talk that he could leave throughout 2022, De Jong ended up being one of the first names on the team sheet last term as Barca won La Liga, featuring in 43 matches across all competitions.

Central midfield - Ryan Gravenberch

Donny van de Beek was one of the other big-name players from that Champions League semifinalist team but his move to Man United has been a complete disaster. So instead, we'll pick Gravenberch who also had a hard time impressing in a new environment after leaving Ajax.

However, unlike Van de Beek, the 21-year-old was more anxious to keep his career from stagnating and so left Bayern Munich at the first opportunity. Since then, Gravenberch has made a pretty impressive start to life at Liverpool and looks capable of fulfilling his potential under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp.

Mohammed Kudus

West Ham signed two Ajax players this summer as Edson Álvarez moved to east London alongside Kudus. The Ghanaian international can operate in a number of roles, but slots into this XI as an attacking midfielder and so there's no space for Álvarez.

With 18 goals and seven assists in his final season in the Netherlands, Kudus certainly knows how to bring plenty to the attack and it's not hard to see why the Hammers spent around £38m to bring the 23-year-old to the Premier League – especially after he also had an impressive 2022 World Cup.

Right-wing - Antony

Of all the players on this list, it's probably fair to say Antony has been the biggest flop at his new club since leaving Ajax. That might sound a bit harsh but he hasn't looked anything close to being good value for money after his €95m (£82m) move to Old Trafford, which is a record sale for the Dutch giants.

Indeed, the Brazilian has just four goals and two assists in his first 31 Premier League appearances for Manchester United. He also faces domestic violence allegations which are actively being investigated by the police. He is still, however, involved in first-team action for the Red Devils.

Sébastien Haller

Ajax have produced some brilliant attackers over the years, and the likes of Luis Suárez and Zlatan Ibrahimović could have made this team any other time over the last decade but unfortunately for those two, they are just a little past it. Ibrahimović retired in the summer and Suárez now plays in Brazil at Grêmio as a 36-year-old.

However, this does leave space for Haller to come into the team. Of course, the tall striker is a brilliant footballer – having scored 47 in 66 games for Ajax – but he also showed remarkable spirit to return to action with Borussia Dortmund just six months after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He has a respectable 11 goals and five assists in 32 for the German outfit and also ranked 13th in the Ballon d'Or award vote for 2022.

READ MORE: Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 11 greatest goals ever ranked

Left-wing - Hakim Ziyech

Ajax's Player of the Season during his final year in Amsterdam, Ziyech was about as entertaining as they come but he never did quite explode into life during his time at Chelsea. He did win the Champions League with the Blues, but with 14 goals in 107 games, it's fair to say he never lived up to expectations.

He scored 49 goals and claimed 81 assists in 165 games for Ajax but couldn't deliver such impressive numbers in England. The Moroccan was moved on from Chelsea this summer and now plays in Turkey on loan with Galatasaray but it's too early to say how he'll get on in this new environment.

Here's a line up with the full XI: