Ajax are one of the unsettled teams in Europe. The departure of Erik ten Hag led to a lot of transfer activities. They sold some of their players, and the others are on the wishlist of various European clubs. Their star striker, Sebastien Haller, was signed by Borussia Dortmund as a replacement for Erling Haaland. Now, the Dutch club is without a striker and looking for a new number nine to lead their line. They have some options in the transfer window, and one of them is Inter Milan’s striker, Edin Džeko.
The former Manchester City player made the switch to Inter Milan last season. The Bosnian has been a consistent goal scorer for every team he has played for. Inter Milan have signed Romelu Lukaku on a loan spell. This means that Džeko will be the third-choice striker behind Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez. He is 36 years old and would be playing in the last few seasons of his career. Džeko will look to spend more minutes on the pitch, and Ajax could be the next possible destination for the player.
Last season, he made 43 appearances in Serie A and the UEFA Champions League. He managed to score 16 goals. The above viz shows the pass received location of the player in the UEFA Champions League. Džeko took 29 touches inside the opposition’s penalty box with an average of 4.67 touches per 90 minutes.
Džeko attempted 24 shots last season in the Champions League. He hit the target 12 times and scored three goals. The above shot map shows all the shots that were attempted by him. The striker attempted 19 shots from inside the penalty box and hit the target 12 times. He had a high accuracy rate from inside the penalty box.
The above viz shows the duels that were won by the player or the duels that ended in a neutral result. It shows that Džeko won a lot of aerial duels inside the opposition’s penalty box. Džeko is a threat in the air and can trouble the opposition defence during set-pieces. He scored a famous headed goal that helped Manchester City secure the league title a few years back.
Last season, the player averaged 24.84 passes per 90 minutes with an accuracy rate of 74.7%. The above pass map shows all the passes that were successfully delivered by Džeko. He distributed the ball towards the wing and made runs inside the penalty box to get behind the crosses.
Edin Džeko could lead the line for Ajax next season. He carries a lot of experience from playing in the top division. Ajax will be eyeing a few other options to solve the problem in the long term. Džeko could also help his side to perform well in the UEFA Champions League and once again reach the knockout round.
