'It was Mislintat's choice' - Vink claims ex-Arsenal chief handed Ajax's iconic No. 10 jersey to Akpom
Published: September 28, 2023
Former Ajax Amsterdam, Genoa and PSV Eindhoven midfielder Marciano Vink has sensationally claimed that it was the decision of ex-Ajax Director of Football Sven Mislintat to hand the club's iconic number 10 jersey to Chuba Akpom.
Ajax's number 10 kit has been worn by club legends such as Johan Cruyff, Patrick Kluivert, Jari Litmanen, Dennis Bergkamp, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten in the past.
Sven Mislintat, who was formerly Head of Recruitment at Premier League club Arsenal, recommended the signing of Hale End Academy product Chuba Akpom from Middlesbrough in the summer transfer window.
Ajax will pay a guaranteed fee of €12.3 million to Middlesbrough and the amount can increase to €14.3 million through performance-related add-ons.
Vink is not convinced of the qualities of Akpom who made a splash in the 2022-2023 season, scoring 28 goals to win the Championship Golden Boot and was also named PFA Championship Player's Player of the Year and EFL Championship Player of the Season.
In quotes relayed by FCUpdate, Vink stated: "I think it was Mislintat's choice to give number 10 to him.
"To me this only indicates that no scouting has been done at all for what Ajax needs. He made waves in the Championship for one season.
"Is that the same role he could fulfill at Ajax and is that a player they can use? I have to be honest: he has played very few minutes.
"He doesn't play in Jong. It's just training, but the times he was called up, he seemed unhappy to me. Not to mention a comparison with Tadic."
Akpom has appeared in four matches for Ajax Amsterdam and has not opened his goalscoring account for the Eredivisie giants after logging 132 minutes in all competitions.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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