Official: Juan Castillo joins Ajax on loan from Chelsea

It was almost two months ago when we celebrated Juan Castillo’s extension with Chelsea. The 19-year-old Dutchman was apparently set to leave the club at the end of his first professional to join Juventus, but we managed to convince him otherwise with a three-year deal.

However, Castillo will not be staying at Cobham this season. Instead he is moving back to his former club Ajax, joining them on a year-long loan deal which includes a buying option that can be activated by the defending Eredivisie champions.

Castillo joined Chelsea in 2016 from Ajax’s academy, after seven years with the Dutch team. Formerly a central midfielder and winger, he was slotted mostly as a left wing-back in the three years he spent in our youth teams.

At Ajax, Castillo might slot in as a left-back to replace Daley Sinkgraven. The backup to Nicolás Tagliafico left the Johan Cruyff Arena to join Bayer Leverkusen this summer, joining other nine players who exited the club right after their unexpected run to Champions League semifinal last season.

Good luck, Juan!