After the four-day Talent Day ended, De Toekomst remained just as busy.
The new season was about to begin. The First Team had to prepare diligently, while Ronald Koeman had to constantly worry about calls from Amsterdam Arena, afraid that one of them might inform him that he was about to lose another player.
After ending last season empty-handed, Ajax faced considerable pressure for results this season. That pressure had traveled from the management to the coaching staff and then to the players. No one could relax. Everyone worked conscientiously, afraid to make the slightest mistake.
Manchester United was aggressively pursuing Trabelsi, Barcelona wanted Van der Vaart, and a certain Serie A powerhouse coveted Ibrahimovic... Transfer news appeared in the papers constantly. It was difficult to tell truth from fiction, but it also kept everyone at the club on edge. No one could fully control their own future.
The Youth Training Camp was relatively peaceful.
The day after Talent Day ended, Technical Director Van Gaal convened a high-level meeting of the Youth Training Camp. The main topics were the players who had stood out during Talent Day and the squad arrangements for the various youth teams in the new season.
As early as July, during the First Team's training camp, the Ajax First Team had officially issued a call-up, bringing Ryan Babel, Maduro, Tom De Mul, Daniel De Ridder, Niklas Mitea, and several other players into the First Team.
Among these players, only Maduro was a midfielder. All the others were wingers. Aside from Niklas Mitea, who was left-footed but could play on the right wing, they were all right-footed, including Ryan Babel, who was accustomed to playing on the left wing.
From Ronald Koeman's call-up list, everyone could easily guess his intentions. He was deeply worried about the right-wing