"Do you think I've changed?"
After seeing Frenkie de Jong off and welcoming his trusted assistant, Xabi Alonso, Yang Yang stared blankly at the doorway and sighed.
"It's natural. Your position determines what you have to consider," the Basque said understandingly.
Yang Yang was no longer merely Ajax's player and head coach. He was also the club's owner.
Given the performances of Ajax's current players, selling their star man prematurely at this crucial moment, with the team poised to reach the Champions League knockout rounds, hardly looked like good business, even if Barcelona were willing to offer fifty million euros for Frenkie de Jong.
Was that a high price?
It certainly was. Klaassen, Ziyech, and the others could not command that kind of fee.
Yet it was not that high, either. Anyone with a discerning eye could see the contribution of the Double Defensive Midfielders to Ajax's Champions League performances this season. Players like Frenkie de Jong were especially scarce, and no price would be excessive.
Asking how much tactical value Frenkie de Jong had was like asking how much Modrić should be worth.
Sometimes, Xabi Alonso genuinely felt that Yang Yang had an extraordinary eye for talent.
He had been the one to tell Kezier and Reiziger to move Frenkie de Jong forward from the back line into midfield, allowing the Dutch midfielder to make his name and find his best position. Later, he had brought the best out of Ødegaard and Achraf, and now he had switched the youngster Mazraoui from midfield to right back, with equally impressive results.
Of course, moving players from position to position might seem reckless, but Yang Yang had only one reason for doing it: the tactical environment. He had always believed that a player could excel if placed in a tactical environment