Julian Rijkhoff: “I’m really in the right place here”
Risk because the striker will have to deal with new coaches: Francesco Farioli is the new head coach, Frank Peereboom will coach the second team in the future. As a foreign coach in the sometimes difficult Ajax environment, Farioli will be looking for results especially initially. The 35-year-old Italian, who came from OGC Nice, recently trained Rijkhof intensively in the friendly match against St. Truiden (4-0).
Rijkhoff got 68 minutes of playing time on the left wing and the ex-Dortmund player managed to show his worth in further trials. In a 2-1 win against Rangers, he missed two good chances to score his first goal for the pros.
Now Rijkhoff will have to show what he was told to do at BVB: be patient, work hard on himself and take advantage of opportunities in training and games. Ajax will give him plenty of time to develop, but his path to the first team will now be monitored more closely.
Crucial months are ahead for Rijkhoff, he now has to prove himself. He has long since regained the joy of football after a humiliating end at Dortmund. “I am happy with my development. Last year I was still a young player, now I have played more than 20 games for both teams together. My goal is to get into the first team as soon as possible,” he said. : “I’m really in the right place here.”