Ajax drafts in Marcel Keizer as new manager

Marcel Keizer will be entrusted with handling Ajax's young contingent next season after the 48-year-old was confirmed as Peter Bosz's successor on Saturday.

The new manager has agreed a two-year contract in Amsterdam, with the option of an additional year written into the deal.

In Keizer, Ajax unsurprisingly opted for somebody accustomed to its youth setup. The retired defender was a graduate himself in the late 1980s before spending much of his playing days at SC Cambuur, but then returned to Ajax in 2016 to guide its reserve side to a second-placed finish in the Jupiler League. In the first match of that campaign, Keizer fielded goalkeeper Andre Onana and centre-halves Davinson Sanchez and Matthijs de Ligt, all of whom were first-team regulars by the end of the season.

Featuring highly on Keizer's job list will be retaining the exciting fledglings that reached the Europa League final under Bosz. Captain Davy Klaassen has already left for Everton in a €27-million move, and talents such as Kasper Dolberg, De Ligt, and Sanchez garnered plenty of attention over the 2016-17 term.