Ajax without Šutalo & Akpom for next Europa League match; Pays €12.5 million for Ávila

New Ajax players Josip Šutalo and Chuba Akpom will not be allowed to play during Ajax's match against Ludogorets in the Europa League playoffs on Thursday. Both acquisitions are not on a player list notified to UEFA for the game on Tuesday. However, new Danish defender Anton Gaaei is eligible to play the game in Bulgaria. The Amsterdam club also announced the acquisition of Gastón Ávila from Antwerp FC in a deal worth a base amount of 12.5 million euros.

Šutalo is ineligible to play against the Bulgarian team since he participated in the European qualifying rounds with Dinamo Zagreb, Voetbal International reported. As a result, he cannot play for a new club starting from the group stage. This UEFA rule aims to prevent a transferred player from competing against the same club twice in the preliminary rounds.

The defender was acquired from Dinamo Zagreb on Monday. The 23-year-old Croatian defender is considered the successor to Jurriën Timber, who moved to Arsenal. Despite initial difficulties in negotiations, the clubs agreed on a transfer fee of 20,5 million euros for a five-year contract. The Croatian international has earned eight caps for his country and participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Šutalo is the eighth Ajax acquisition this season, after Branco van den Boomen, Benjamin Tahirovic, Diant Ramaj, Carlos Forbs, Jakov Medic, Chuba Akpom and Anton Gaaei.

Chuba Akpom, the new striker transferred from Middlesbrough for a transfer fee of 13.3 millions euros, will not play either against Ludogorets on Thursday because he is still waiting for a work permit.

New Danish defender Anton Gaaei is eligible for the away match in Bulgaria. He watched the away match against Excelsior (2-2) on Saturday together with Akpom in the stadium of the club from Rotterdam. Steven Berghuis will also be available. He missed the first three Eredivisie matches due to a suspension.

Next week, the Bulgarian champion will travel to Amsterdam for the return leg. Akpom may be available when Ajax host Ludogorets for this match, which will determine who moves on to the Europa League group stage. If Ajax qualifies, Šutalo will be able to join the team at that stage.

Gastón Ávila to fill a gap at left back

Ajax will also bring Gastón Ávila from Antwerp FC, with the Amsterdam club shelling out 12.5 million euros for the 21-year-old Argentinian left back. That figure can rise to a maximum of 14.5 million euros with various bonuses.

Ávila signed a five-year contract with Ajax. He started his professional career with Rosario Central and Boca Juniors, before moving to Belgium in the summer of 2022. With Antwerp, where the Dutch trainer Mark van Bommel is in charge, Ávila won the Belgian national title and the cup.

Ajax coach Maurice Steijn said on Saturday after the draw against Excelsior (2-2) that he is not satisfied with the performance of his left backs Anass Salah-Eddine and Owen Wijndal. Ávila is the ninth addition to Ajax this transfer period.