# 2017–18 AFC Ajax season

During the 2017–18 season, Ajax participated in the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup. They also participated in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League but couldn't get past the qualification stage for either competitions. This marked the first time that Ajax did not qualify for the group stage of a UEFA club competition since the 1990–91 season, when they were excluded from competing in European football for a year due to the staafincident. The squad's first training took place on 29 June 2017.

## Player statistics

Appearances for competitive matches only
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Eredivisie | Eredivisie | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League | KNVB Cup | KNVB Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | CMR | André Onana | 38 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | NED | Joël Veltman | 36 | 1 | 28+2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | NED | Matthijs de Ligt | 39 | 3 | 33 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | AUT | Maximilian Wöber | 23 | 1 | 16+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | NED | Donny van de Beek | 39 | 13 | 33+1 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | BRA | David Neres | 37 | 14 | 28+4 | 14 | 1+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | NED | Daley Sinkgraven | 5 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | NED | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 32 | 13 | 24+4 | 13 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | MAR | Hakim Ziyech | 39 | 9 | 34 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | GER | Amin Younes | 17 | 2 | 9+4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | NED | Carel Eiting | 6 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | CZE | Václav Černý | 7 | 1 | 2+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | FW | NOR | Dennis Johnsen | 4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | COL | Mateo Cassierra | 5 | 1 | 0+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | DEN | Lasse Schöne | 36 | 11 | 27+3 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | NED | Frenkie de Jong | 26 | 1 | 16+6 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 22 | GK | NED | Benjamin van Leer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | NED | Siem de Jong | 26 | 7 | 4+19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 3 |
| 25 | FW | DEN | Kasper Dolberg | 30 | 9 | 11+12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 26 | DF | NED | Nick Viergever | 18 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | COL | Luis Manuel Orejuela | 4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | NED | Norbert Alblas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | ARG | Nicolás Tagliafico | 15 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | GRE | Kostas Lamprou | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | NED | Abdelhak Nouri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | NED | Mitchell Dijks | 12 | 0 | 8+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | NED | Dani de Wit | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | DF | NED | Noussair Mazraoui | 8 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | NED | Azor Matusiwa | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | DEN | Rasmus Nissen | 8 | 0 | 5+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | FW | NED | Justin Kluivert | 36 | 11 | 27+3 | 10 | 3+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 47 | MF | NED | Jurgen Ekkelenkamp | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players sold or loaned out after the start of the season: ||||||||||||
| 5 | DF | COL | Davinson Sánchez | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | DF | NED | Deyovaisio Zeefuik | 9 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
As of 6 May 2018

## Team statistics
### Eredivisie standings 2017–18

| Current standing | Matches played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points | Goals for | Goals against | Yellow cards | Red cards |
| 2 | 34 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 79 | 89 | 33 | 58 | 3 |
| Match day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | Total |
| Points by match day | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 79 |
| Total points by match day | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 32 | 35 | 38 | 41 | 44 | 45 | 48 | 51 | 54 | 57 | 58 | 58 | 61 | 64 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 79 | 79 |
| Standing by match day | 12 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Goals by match day | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 89 |
| Goals against per match day | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33 |
| Total goal difference per match day | −1 | +1 | +3 | +6 | +6 | +5 | +9 | +13 | +16 | +18 | +17 | +25 | +29 | +29 | +32 | +34 | +35 | +37 | +39 | +39 | +41 | +43 | +44 | +45 | +45 | +44 | +47 | +50 | +51 | +52 | +49 | +52 | +55 | +56 | +56 |

#### Topscorers

| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | David Neres | 14 |
| 2. | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 13 |
| 3. | Donny van de Beek | 11 |
| 4. | Justin Kluivert | 10 |
| 4. | Lasse Schöne | 10 |
| 6. | Hakim Ziyech | 9 |
| 7. | Kasper Dolberg | 6 |
| 8. | Siem de Jong | 4 |
| 9. | Matthijs de Ligt | 3 |
| 10. | Nick Viergever | 2 |
| 11. | Mateo Cassierra | 1 |
| 11. | Nicolás Tagliafico | 1 |
| 11. | Joël Veltman | 1 |
| 11. | Maximilian Wöber | 1 |
| 11. | Amin Younes | 1 |
| Own goal | Sherel Floranus (Sparta Rotterdam) | 1 |
| Own goal | Ryan Sanusi (Sparta Rotterdam) | 1 |
| | Total | 89 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Kasper Dolberg | 3 |
| 1. | Siem de Jong | 3 |
| 3. | Václav Černý | 1 |
| 3. | Frenkie de Jong | 1 |
| 3. | Justin Kluivert | 1 |
| Own goal | Ruben Koorndijk (Scheveningen) | 1 |
| | Total | 10 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Donny van de Beek | 2 |
| 2. | Davinson Sánchez | 1 |
| | Total | 3 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Lasse Schöne | 1 |
| 1. | Amin Younes | 1 |
| | Total | 2 |

## Competitions

All times are in CEST

### Eredivisie
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | PSV Eindhoven (C) | 34 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 87 | 39 | +48 | 83 | Qualification to Champions League play-off round |
| 2 | Ajax | 34 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 89 | 33 | +56 | 79 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | AZ | 34 | 22 | 5 | 7 | 72 | 38 | +34 | 71 | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Feyenoord | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 76 | 39 | +37 | 66 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Utrecht | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 58 | 53 | +5 | 54 | Qualification to European competition play-offs |
* ↑ Feyenoord qualified for the Europa League third qualifying round by winning the 2017–18 KNVB Cup.

#### Matches
### Friendlies
## Transfers for 2017–18
### Summer transfer window

For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the summer window (1 July 2017 to 31 August 2017) please see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2017.

#### Arrivals

* The following players moved to AFC Ajax.
| Name | Position | Transfer type | Previous club | Fee |
| Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell |
| Robert Murić | Forward | 1 June 2017 | Pescara | - |
| Richairo Zivkovic | Forward | 1 June 2017 | Utrecht | - |
| Indy Groothuizen | Goalkeeper | 1 June 2017 | Nordsjælland | - |
| Django Warmerdam | Defender | 1 June 2017 | PEC Zwolle | - |
| Leeroy Owusu | Defender | 1 June 2017 | Excelsior | - |
| Queensy Menig | Forward | 1 June 2017 | PEC Zwolle | - |
| Zakaria El Azzouzi | Forward | 1 June 2017 | Sparta Rotterdam | - |
| Mitchell Dijks | Defender | 1 June 2017 | Norwich City | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Victor Jensen | Midfielder | 2 June 2017 | Copenhagen | €2,600,000 |
| Benjamin van Leer | Goalkeeper | 28 June 2017 | Roda JC | €700,000 |
| Danilo | Forward | 7 July 2017 | Santos | €2,000,000 |
| Dominik Kotarski | Goalkeeper | 7 July 2017 | Dinamo Zagreb | ? |
| Luis Manuel Orejuela | Defender | 8 August 2017 | Deportivo Cali | €3,500,000 |
| Dennis Johnsen | Forward | 11 August 2017 | Heerenveen | €2,000,000 |
| Maximilian Wöber | Defender | 24 August 2017 | Rapid Wien | €7,500,000 |
| Siem de Jong | Midfielder | 28 August 2017 | Newcastle United | €2,000,000 |
| Dean Solomons | Defender | 31 August 2017 | Ajax Cape Town | ? |
| Leo Thethani | Forward | 31 August 2017 | Ajax Cape Town | ? |
| Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer |
| Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | Forward | 1 June 2017 | Schalke 04 | - |
| Teun Bijleveld | Midfielder | 15 June 2017 | AZ | - |
| Issam El Maach | Goalkeeper | 21 June 2017 | Vitesse | - |
| Robin Schouten | Defender | 4 July 2017 | AZ | - |
| Saku Ylätupa | Midfielder | 21 July 2017 | HJK Helsinki | - |
| Kostas Lamprou | Goalkeeper | 1 August 2017 | Willem II | - |

#### Departures

* The following players moved from AFC Ajax.
| Name | Position | Transfer type | New club | Fee |
| Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan |
| Leeroy Owusu | Defender | 21 June 2017 | Almere City | - |
| Zakaria El Azzouzi | Forward | 10 July 2017 | Excelsior | - |
| Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell |
| Bertrand Traoré | Forward | 1 June 2017 | Chelsea | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Django Warmerdam | Midfielder | 1 May 2017 | Groningen | €800,000 |
| Davy Klaassen | Midfielder | 15 June 2017 | Everton | €27,000,000 |
| Richairo Zivkovic | Forward | 16 June 2017 | Oostende | ? |
| Pelle Clement | Forward | 28 June 2017 | Reading | €300,000 |
| Kenny Tete | Defender | 7 July 2017 | Lyon | €5,000,000 |
| Dragiša Gudelj | Defender | 11 July 2017 | Wohlen | ? |
| Jaïro Riedewald | Defender | 24 July 2017 | Crystal Palace | €9,000,000 |
| Davinson Sánchez | Defender | 18 August 2017 | Tottenham Hotspur | €42,000,000 |
| Queensy Menig | Forward | 31 August 2017 | Nantes | €500,000 |
| Indy Groothuizen | Goalkeeper | 31 August 2017 | ADO Den Haag | ? |
| Robert Murić | Forward | 31 August 2017 | Braga | €500,000 |
| Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer |
| Ezra Walian | Forward | 1 June 2017 | Almere City | - |
| Diederik Boer | Goalkeeper | 2 June 2017 | PEC Zwolle | - |
| Anderson López | Forward | 10 June 2017 | Monaco | - |
| Thulani Serero | Midfielder | 14 June 2017 | Vitesse | - |
| Daishawn Redan | Forward | 22 June 2017 | Chelsea | - |
| Joe van der Sar | Goalkeeper | 1 July 2017 | ADO Den Haag | - |
| Heiko Westermann | Defender | 3 July 2017 | Austria Wien | - |
| Kees de Boer | Midfielder | 5 July 2017 | Swansea City | - |
| Markus Bay | Midfielder | 8 August 2017 | Viborg | - |
| Nathan Leyder | Defender | 31 August 2017 | Vigor Wuitens Hamme | - |

### Winter transfer window

For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the winter window (1 January 2018 to 1 February 2018) please see List of Dutch football transfers winter 2017–18.

#### Arrivals

* The following players moved to AFC Ajax.
| Name | Position | Transfer type | Previous club | Fee |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Nicolás Tagliafico | Defender | 4 January 2018 | Independiente | €4,500,000 |
| Nicolas Kühn | Forward | 16 January 2018 | RB Leipzig | €2,000,000 |
| Rasmus Nissen | Defender | 23 January 2018 | FC Midtjylland | €5,500,000 |

#### Departures

* The following players moved from AFC Ajax.
| Name | Position | Transfer type | New club | Fee |
| Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan |
| Mauro Savastano | Defender | 2 January 2018 | Go Ahead Eagles | - |
| Deyovaisio Zeefuik | Defender | 31 January 2018 | FC Groningen | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Damil Dankerlui | Defender | 9 January 2018 | Willem II | ? |
| Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer |
| Pascal Struijk | Defender | 26 January 2018 | Leeds United | - |