Ajax Amsterdam sign Lucas Ocampos, do not sign Hakim Ziyech

Hakim Ziyech looked set to join Ajax Amsterdam for much of the past couple weeks as the replacement for Manchester United-bound Antony, but Ajax have decided to go in a different direction and so Ziyech looks set to stay the course with us instead.

His (surprise?) start on Tuesday against Southampton already hinted at this development, but Ajax’s last-minute loan signing of Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos confirmed it for sure. That deal involved plenty of drama as well, some of it mid-flight, but with the Eredivisie transfer window slamming shut last night, it looks like they managed to figure everything out just before the deadline. (We can still sign players from the Eredivisie since the Premier League transfer window closes a day later.)

So, with Ziyech set to stay, the clarity that Thomas Tuchel has been looking forward to should be getting closer as well. We have plenty of work ahead of us and plenty of solutions to find, so the fewer variables we need to deal with, the better. Above all, everyone does indeed need to step up, and get us back to the levels we know we can be at with this team.