Ajax tops list as a player stepping stone to big five leagues

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Amsterdam football club Ajax tops the list of clubs from where the current big five European leagues draw their talent, according to research by Swiss sports institute CIES.

The institute’s latest Football Observatory posting highlights the main clubs supplying players to big league teams, and puts Ajax on top with 22 players, followed by Benfica (21) and RB Salzburg (20).

PSV Eindhoven is seventh on the list with 15 players.

Ajax is well respected for its youth training programme. Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong both trained at the youth academy and moved to Juventus and Barcelona respectively last season.

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