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<ul><li>Ajax take tough stance</li><li>Want to overhaul squad this summer</li><li>John Heitinga has arrived as coach</li></ul><script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

Ajax brutally tell seven players via WhatsApp they're no longer welcome at the club - with ex-Arsenal man Chuba Akpom among those axed

Kroes informed the players in a WhatsApp group chat that they no longer feature in Ajax's plans and are free to look for new clubs. As long as they are still under contract in Amsterdam, they are "no longer welcome" on the club premises during professional team activities, according to <a href="https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/voetbal/chuba-akpom-en-carlos-forbs-niet-meer-welkom-bij-ajax-1/74476449.html" target="_blank">De Telegraaf</a>.The group of outcasts includes former Stuttgart left-back Borna Sosa (27), who was on loan to Torino in Serie A last season. In addition to the Croatian, former Arsenal player Chuba Akpom (29), former ManCity talent Carlos Forbs (21), Kristian Hlynsson (21), Christian Rasmussen (22), Jay Gorter (25) and Branco van den Boomen (29) are also no longer wanted at Ajax.Sosa, Akpom and Forbs each have three years left on their contracts. They arrived in the summer of 2023 under the now sacked sporting director Sven Mislintat. At the time, he spent a lot of money, paying a total of €34 million (£29m) in transfer fees for the trio alone.Rasmussen and Van den Boomen are under contract until 2027, Hlynsson and Gorter until 2026.The club's drastic measures also include the players no longer having parking spaces and sharing a physiotherapist between the seven of them.

WHAT HAPPENED?

At the end of a rollercoaster season, <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/ultimate-bottle-job-jordan-henderson-ajax-epic-eredivisie-title-collapse/blt8920354695e247e9" target="_blank">Ajax squandered a seven-point lead over eventual champions PSV</a> with four games to go. Coach Francesco Farioli resigned the day after losing the championship. He explained at the time: "The management and I have the same goals for the future of Ajax, but we have different visions and timeframes for how we should work to achieve those goals."<a href="https://www.spox.com/fussball/listen/es-liegt-in-meiner-natur-zu-provozieren-der-irrsinnigste-titelkampf-europas/blt7e9ac458462ca001"></a>Ajax appointed former international Johnny Heitinga as Farioli's successor. He most recently worked as Arne Slot's assistant at Liverpool FC and signed a contract until 2027 in Amsterdam, where he once played.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The Dutch players' union VVCS criticised Ajax's move in an official statement on Saturday: "The VVCS is surprised by the ban imposed on seven Ajax players under contract. These players are being explicitly isolated from their colleagues in the first team. The VVCS considers this to be a form of improper employment and unnecessary public damage to players who bear no responsibility for the situation that has arisen. Rather, they are victims of Ajax's misguided policy, which gave Mislintat free rein at the time."

WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

Ajax are set to return to pre-season action shortly with a series of friendlies. Their first game is against Hibernian on Saturday.

WHAT NEXT FOR AJAX?

Ajax brutally tell seven players via WhatsApp they're no longer welcome at the club - with ex-Arsenal man Chuba Akpom among those axed | Goal.com

Ajax technical director Alex Kroes has reportedly told seven players they are no longer welcome at the club via WhatsApp.