Ajax will probably have to miss Antony for a large part of the preparation. The Brazilian, who is in the news from Manchester United, is still recovering from an ankle injury sustained with the national team against Bolivia in April.

Schreuder hopes to be able to use Antony again at the start of the new season. “Antony is in Amsterdam revalidating from his injury. It goes reasonably well, but upcoming weeks are important. For his injury, we hope it will improve quickly. I assume that he will be fit again at the end of the preparation,” Schreuder said to ESPN after the practice match against SV Meppen.

That Antony is fit again, would be the beginning of August, but perhaps the best player of Ajax has already left to the Manchester United of former Ajax coach Erik ten Hag. United will have to dig deep into their pockets, because Ajax has an asking price of 80 million.