Ajax’s €10m defender Ahmetcan Kaplan close to making debut more than a year after joining the club | OneFootball

According to Voetbal International, Ajax defender Ahmetcan Kaplan is close to reaching full fitness having been absent for over a year due to injury. The 20-year-old defender joined the Amsterdam club from Trabzonspor in August 2022 for €9.5m.

Just weeks after joining, Kaplan suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury whilst playing for Turkey’s U21’s. The youngster later suffered a torn knee ligament which kept him out of action for the entire duration of last season. Now, he’s finally set to be available for Ajax, in what is a crucial period for the club.

Ahmetcan Kaplan featured 18 times for Trabzonspor before joining Ajax. The 2003-born centre-back stands at 6ft 2in tall and is known for his excellent physical presence in defence. Maurice Steijn has a decent number of defensive options at the moment, but based off the current crisis at the club, he may well want to use Ahmetcan Kaplan to try and strengthen things at the back.

Ajax sit in 16th place in the Eredivisie table, occupying a spot in the relegation zone. The Dutch giants are off to their worst ever start to a season since 1965. They’ve lost three, drawn two and won just one match in their opening six league games. Next up, they take on FC Utrecht after the international break. A trip to Brighton in the Europa League follows. Will Ajax’s awful start to the season continue?

GBeNeFN | Hugo Hargreaves