Ajax Amsterdam chose to sign ex-Middlesbrough striker Akpom over Bayern Munich product Zirkzee 

Ajax Amsterdam passed up the opportunity to sign Bayern Munich-reared striker Joshua Zirkzee in the summer and opted for fellow Nigeria-eligible forward Chuka Akpom and Georges Mikautadze.

According to Voetbalprimeur, the Dutch giants' former Sporting Director Sven Mislintat wanted to bring the Bologna forward to  Johan Cruyff Arena but failed in his attempt.

His effort was thwarted by Jan van Halst, a senior member of the club's Supervisory Board, Cees van Oevelen and former manager Maurice Steign, all of whom wanted the club to sign Akpom and Mikautadze.

Zirkzee has gone on to become one of the best central forwards this season in the Serie A this, netting 7 goals in sixteen appearances.

The former Bayern Munich forward's form has attracted the interest of AC Milan and Newcastle as previously reported.

With Akpom failing to hit the ground running quickly, Ajax would have been rueing not signing Zirkzee but the former's form in recent weeks might have eased their worries having scored 9 goals across all competitions since the start of November.

The same cannot be said for Mikautadze who has continued to struggle in front of goal and is yet to score a goal for the Dutch giants.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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