Kasper Dolberg was of the fantastic vintage of young super talents under Erik ten Hag who enchanted the whole of football Europe – and scared the Champions League opponents. The Danish media followed the striker closely, a clear candidate to become “the next big striker from Denmark”. Then came the exit from Ajax in 2019 and Dolberg’s career went straight south. Didn’t succeed at Nice, nor on loan to Sevilla or Hoffenheim, then two seasons at Anderlecht, before returning to Ajax last summer. Here, the pieces would finally fall into place for the Danish light bulb. Wrong.
It was supposed to be the perfect comeback at Ajax, but it has already been shown in the first season that Dolberg and Ajax are no longer a match. Telegraaf journalist Jeroen Kapteijns is convinced the Dane is done at Ajax.
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“The acquisition of Dolberg has certainly been disappointing. It has generally been a difficult season for Ajax, who started the season with John Heitinga, who was sacked as head coach in November. Three goals in the Eredivisie is too little for a striker who plays for Ajax. I think that when Jordi Cruijff took over as technical director, he started looking at where to clean up the squad, and here the choice fell on Dolberg, among others,” Kapteijns begins to Bold.
“He hasn’t scored much, and a new technical director and coach has arrived at Ajax. The new coach, Oscar Garcia, hardly uses Dolberg.
When asked directly, the journalist says that Dolberg’s lack of goals and the high price tag have created a perception that Ajax’s purchase of the Dane is a failure.
“Yes, I would say so. Ajax paid around €10 million for him, while he was given a four-year contract. If he ends up leaving the club after just one year, it is of course a failure.
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In February, Jordi Cruyff was brought in as the club’s new technical director, and he has been tasked with cleaning up, exit Dolberg is clearly high on the list of tasks.
For the Danish media – and probably Dolberg and the Ajax supporters – this will be a shock transition for the returned “son”. The big question becomes, where does the journey go next?
