2015–16 AFC Ajax season

The 2015–16 AFC Ajax season saw the club participate in the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The first training took place on 6 July 2015 while the traditional AFC Ajax Open Day was held on 20 July.

Ajax
2015–16 season
ChairmanHennie Henrichs
ManagerFrank de Boer
Eredivisie2nd
KNVB CupThird round
UEFA Champions LeagueThird qualifying round
UEFA Europa LeagueGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague:
Arkadiusz Milik (21)

All:
Arkadiusz Milik (24)
Highest home attendance51,862 vs PEC Zwolle (3 April 2016)
Lowest home attendance3,750 at Excelsior (20 September 2015)

Pre-season

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The first training for the 2015–16 season was held on 6 June 2015. In preparation for the new season, Ajax organized a training stage in Neustift, Austria. The squad, with manager Frank de Boer, remained there from 15 to 24 June. During this training stage, a friendly match was played against Dynamo Moscow, whereupon the club then traveled back to the Netherlands, residing at De Lutte for additional training. The squad stayed there from 30 June to 5 July, when further friendly matches were played against Nordsjælland, Panathinaikos and VfL Wolfsburg. Traveling to France, a further friendly match was played against Saint-Étienne.

Player statistics

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Appearances for competitive matches only

No. Pos Nat Player Total Eredivisie UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League
KNVB Cup
2015 Johan Cruyff Shield
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK   NED Jasper Cillessen 39 0 31 0 8 0 0 0
2 DF   NED Ricardo van Rhijn 14 0 12 0 2 0 0 0
3 DF   NED Joël Veltman 37 2 32 2 5 0 0 0
4 DF   NED Mike van der Hoorn 14 0 13 0 1 0 0 0
6 DF   NED Riechedly Bazoer 32 5 28 5 4 0 0 0
7 FW   DEN Viktor Fischer 34 9 26 7 8 2 0 0
8 MF   NED Daley Sinkgraven 20 0 16 0 4 0 0 0
9 FW   POL Arkadiusz Milik 36 22 29 21 7 1 0 0
10 MF   NED Davy Klaassen 37 15 29 13 8 2 0 0
11 MF   GER Amin Younes 31 6 25 6 6 0 0 0
17 DF   DEN Nicolai Boilesen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 FW   NED Richairo Zivkovic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 FW   DEN Lasse Schöne 30 5 24 4 6 1 0 0
21 FW   NED Anwar El Ghazi 33 11 26 11 7 0 0 0
22 DF   NED Jaïro Riedewald 29 0 21 0 8 0 0 0
23 DF   NED Kenny Tete 27 0 20 0 7 0 0 0
24 GK   CMR André Onana 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 MF   RSA Thulani Serero 15 1 12 1 3 0 0 0
26 DF   NED Nick Viergever 16 0 15 0 1 0 0 0
27 MF   SRB Nemanja Gudelj 40 5 32 4 8 1 0 0
29 FW   NED Sam Hendriks 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
30 MF   NED Donny van de Beek 10 1 8 0 2 1 0 0
31 FW   CRO Robert Murić 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
32 MF   CZE Václav Černý 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0
33 GK   NED Diederik Boer 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
34 MF   NED Abdelhak Nouri 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 MF   NED Mitchell Dijks 35 0 28 0 7 0 0 0
36 MF   NED Mauro Savastano 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
37 FW   DEN Kasper Dolberg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
38 GK   NED Norbert Alblas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
39 DF   NED Leeroy Owusu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
40 DF   NED Damian van Bruggen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

As of 7 March 2016

2015–16 selection by nationality

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Nationality                       Total Players
Current squad selection 14 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 - - - 24
Youth/reserves squad in AFC Ajax selection 25 1 2 - - - - - 2 1 1 32
Players out on loan 7 1 - - - - - - - - - 8

Team statistics

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Eredivisie standings 2015–16

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Current standing Matches played Wins Draws Losses Points Goals for
 
Goals against
 
Yellow cards
 
Red cards
 
2nd 34 25 7 2 82 81 21 3 0

Points by match day

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Match day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Total
Points 3 3 3 3 1 3 3 0 3 3 3 1 3 3 3 0 3 3 3 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 1 3 3 3 1 3 3 1 82

Total points by match day

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Match day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Total
Points 3 6 9 12 13 16 19 19 22 25 28 29 32 35 38 38 41 44 47 48 49 52 55 58 61 64 65 68 71 74 75 78 81 82 82

Standing by match day

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Match day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Standing
Standing 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 - - - 2 2

Goals by match day

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Match day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Total
Goals 3 3 2 4 2 2 2 1 2 3 6 1 5 2 5 0 2 1 1 0 2 2 2 3 4 4 2 2 3 1 2 2 4 1 81

Statistics for the 2015–16 season

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  • This is an overview of all the statistics for played matches in the 2014–15 season.
Friendlies Johan Cruyff Shield KNVB Cup UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League Eredivisie Total
Matches 6 of 6 0 of 0 0 of 1 0 of 2 0 of 0 34 of 34 40 of 43
Win 2 of 6 0 of 0 0 of 1 0 of 2 0 of 0 25 of 34 27 of 43
Draw 2 of 6 0 of 0 0 of 1 0 of 2 0 of 0 7 of 34 9 of 43
Loss 2 of 6 0 of 0 0 of 1 0 of 2 0 of 0 2 of 34 4 of 43
Home 2 of 2 0 of 0 0 of 0 0 of 1 0 of 0 0 of 17 2 of 20
Away 4 of 4 0 of 0 0 of 1 0 of 1 0 of 0 0 of 17 4 of 23
Yellow cards   0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Red cards   0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 x yellow in 1 match     0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Number of substitutes used    43 0 0 0 0 0 43
Goals for   12 0 0 0 0 62 74
Goals against   8 0 0 0 0 21 29
Balance   4 0 0 0 0 22 26
Clean sheets   1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Penalties for   0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Penalties against   0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2015–16 team records

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Description Competition Result
Biggest win   Friendly match Ajax – Umm Salal ( 6–1 )
  KNVB Cup
  UEFA Champions League
  UEFA Europa League
  Eredivisie AZ – Ajax ( 0–3 )
Biggest loss   Friendly match Ajax – Nordsjælland ( 1–3 )
  KNVB Cup
  UEFA Champions League Ajax – Rapid Wien ( 2–3 )
  UEFA Europa League
  Eredivisie
Most goals in a match   Friendly match Ajax – Umm Salal ( 6–1 )
  KNVB Cup
  UEFA Champions League Ajax – Rapid Wien ( 2–3 )
  UEFA Europa League
  Eredivisie AZ – Ajax ( 0–3 )

Topscorers

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Friendlies

Nr. Name  
1.   Yaya Sanogo 3
2.   Lasse Schöne 2
3.   Riechedly Bazoer 1
  Danny Bakker 1
  Arkadiusz Milik 1
  Anwar El Ghazi 1
  Davy Klaassen 1
  Lucas Andersen 1
Own goal   Maksim Kuzmin (Dynamo Moscow) 1
Total 12

Eredivisie

Nr. Name  
1.   Arkadiusz Milik 21
2.   Davy Klaassen 12
3.   Anwar El Ghazi 11
4.   Viktor Fischer 7
5.   Amin Younes 6
6.   Riechedly Bazoer 5
7.   Nemanja Gudelj 4
8.   Lasse Schöne 4
9.   Joël Veltman 2
10.   Thulani Serero 1
Total 64

KNVB Cup

Nr. Name  
1.   Viktor Fischer 1
  John Heitinga 1
Total 2

UEFA Champions League

Nr. Name  
1.   Davy Klaassen 2
2.   Arkadiusz Milik 1
  Nemanja Gudelj 1
Total 4

UEFA Europa League

Nr. Name  
1. -
Total

Placements

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Friendlies KNVB Cup UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League Eredivisie
Status 6 played, 2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses 4th Round
Next opponent:
De Graafschap
Third qualifying round
Last opponent: SK Rapid Wien
Placement for: UEFA Europa League Playoffs
Playoff Round
Next opponent:
FK Jablonec

Competitions

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All times are in CEST

Eredivisie

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 PSV Eindhoven (C) 34 26 6 2 88 32 56 84 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Ajax 34 25 7 2 81 21 60 82 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
3 Feyenoord 34 19 6 9 62 40 22 63 Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a]
4 AZ 34 18 5 11 70 53 17 59 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
5 Utrecht 34 15 8 11 57 48 9 53 Qualification for the European competition play-offs[b]
Source: Eredivisie, NUsport, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off (only if deciding champion, European competitions, or relegation); 8) Draw.[1]
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Feyenoord qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2015–16 KNVB Cup.
  2. ^ Four teams played for one spot in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

Matches

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9 August 2015 1 AZ 0–3 Ajax Alkmaar
12:30 CEST Van Overeem   66' Report El Ghazi   (14), 38',   33'
Gudelj   40'
Klaassen   69'
Riedewald   90'
Stadium: AFAS Stadion
Attendance: 16,637
Referee: Bas Kuipers
15 August 2015 2 Ajax 3–0 Willem II Amsterdam
19:45 CEST Milik   18'
El Ghazi   67', 90 1'
Report Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 48,494
Referee: Bas Nijhuis
23 August 2015 3 NEC 0–2 Ajax Nijmegen
Report
Stadium: Goffertstadion
Attendance: 12,321
Referee: Dennis Higler
30 August 2015 4 Ajax 4–0 ADO Den Haag Amsterdam
Report
Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 43,578
Referee: Danny Makkelie
12 September 2015 5 Twente 2–2 Ajax Enschede
Report
Stadium: De Grolsch Veste
Attendance: 29,000
Referee: Pol van Boekel
20 September 2015 6 Excelsior 0–2 Ajax Rotterdam
Report
Stadium: Stadion Woudestein
Attendance: 3,750
Referee: Kevin Blom
26 September 2015 7 Ajax 2–0 Groningen Amsterdam
Report
Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 45,676
Referee: Richard Liesveld
4 October 2015 8 Ajax 1–2 PSV Amsterdam
Report
Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 51,154
Referee: Bas Nijhuis
17 October 2015 9 Heracles 0–2 Ajax Almelo
Report
Stadium: Polman Stadion
Attendance: 12,080
Referee: Kevin Blom
25 October 2015 10 Vitesse 1–3 Ajax Arnhem
Report
Stadium: GelreDome
Attendance: 21,163
Referee: Richard Liesveld
31 October 2015 11 Ajax 6–0 Roda JC
8 November 2015 12 Feyenoord 1–1 Ajax
21 November 2015 13 Ajax 5–1 Cambuur
29 November 2015 14 PEC Zwolle 0–2 Ajax
5 December 2015 15 Ajax 5–2 Heerenveen
13 December 2015 16 Utrecht 1–0 Ajax
20 December 2015 17 Ajax 2–1 De Graafschap
17 January 2016 18 ADO Den Haag 0–1 Ajax
23 January 2016 19 Ajax 1–0 Vitesse
26 January 2016 20 Ajax 0–0 Heracles
31 January 2016 21 Roda JC 2–2 Ajax
7 February 2016 22 Ajax 2–1 Feyenoord
14 February 2016 23 Groningen 1–2 Ajax
21 February 2016 24 Ajax 3–0 Excelsior
28 February 2016 25 Ajax 4–1 AZ
6 March 2016 26 Willem II 0–4 Ajax
13 March 2016 27 Ajax 2–2 NEC
20 March 2016 28 PSV 0–2 Ajax
3 April 2016 29 Ajax 3–0 PEC Zwolle
9 April 2016 30 Cambuur 0–1 Ajax
17 April 2016 31 Ajax 2–2 Utrecht
20 April 2016 32 Heerenveen 0–2 Ajax
1 May 2016 33 Ajax 4–0 Twente
8 May 2016 34 De Graafschap 1–1 Ajax

KNVB Cup

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23 September 2015 Round 2 Ajax 2–0 De Graafschap Amsterdam
20:45 Fischer   41'
Heitinga   85'
Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 24,738
Referee: Jochem Kamphuis
28 October 2015 Round 3 Feyenoord 1–0 Ajax Rotterdam
19:45 Veltman   90 5' (o.g.) Stadium: De Kuip
Attendance: 47,500
Referee: Pol van Boekel

UEFA Champions League

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Third qualifying round

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29 July 2015 First leg Rapid Wien   2–2   Ajax Vienna, Austria
21:05 Petsos   42'
Kainz   48'
Schwab   59'
Berić   76'
Report Klaassen   25', 43',   71'
Veltman   76'
Stadium: Ernst-Happel-Stadion
Attendance: 43,200
Referee: William Collum (Scotland)
4 August 2015 Second leg Ajax   2–3
(4–5 a agg.)
  Rapid Wien Amsterdam, Netherlands
20:15 Milik   52'
Gudelj   75'
Report Berič   12'
Schaub   39', 77'
Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)

UEFA Europa League

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Qualifying rounds

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Play-off round
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20 August 2015 First leg Ajax   1–0   FK Jablonec Amsterdam, Netherlands
19:00 CET Milik   54' (pen.) Report Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 30,898
Referee: Tony Chapron (France)
27 August 2015 Second leg FK Jablonec   0–0
(1–0 agg.)
  Ajax Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic
18:00 CET Report Stadium: Chance Arena
Attendance: 6,040
Referee: Kenn Hansen (Denmark)

Group stage

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MOL FEN AJX CEL
1   Molde 6 3 2 1 10 7 3 11 Advance to knockout phase 0–2 1–1 3–1
2   Fenerbahçe 6 2 3 1 7 6 1 9 1–3 1–0 1–1
3   Ajax 6 1 4 1 6 6 0 7 1–1 0–0 2–2
4   Celtic 6 0 3 3 8 12 −4 3 1–2 2–2 1–2
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matches

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17 September 2015 1 Ajax   2–2   Celtic Amsterdam, Netherlands
19:00 CET Fischer   25'
Schøne   84'
Report Bitton   8'
Lustig   42'
Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 47,455
Referee: Luca Banti (Italy)
1 October 2015 2 Molde   1–1   Ajax Molde, Norway
21:00 CET Hestad   8' Report Fischer   19' Stadium: Molde Stadion
Attendance: 7,890
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland)

Friendlies

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4 July 2015 Ajax   2–2   Dynamo Moscow Kematen, Austria
20:00 Kuzmin   19' (o.g.)
Bazoer   59'
Report Kuzmin   30'
M'Vila   83'
Stadium: Sportplatz Kematen
10 July 2015 Ajax   1–3   Nordsjælland Hardenberg, Netherlands
16:30 Bakker   81' Report Ingvartsen   8'
Moberg Karlsson   17', 66'
Stadium: De Boshoek
10 July 2015 Ajax   2–0   Panathinaikos Epe, Netherlands
20:00 Milik   33'
El Ghazi   87'
Report Stadium: De Wachtelenberg
10 August 2015 Ajax   6–1   Umm Salal Amsterdam, Netherlands
19:00 Schöne   2', 13'
Sanogo   6', 17', 35'
Andersen   30'
Report Sagbo   53' Stadium: Sportpark De Toekomst
8 October 2015 Ajax   1–2   Southampton Amsterdam, Netherlands
19:30 Schöne   60' (pen.) Report Seager   19'
Juanmi   60'
Stadium: Sportpark De Toekomst

Transfers for 2015–16

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Summer transfer window

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For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the summer window (1 July 2015 to 31 August 2015) please see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2015.

Arrivals

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  • The following players moved to AFC Ajax.
Name Position Transfer type Previous club Fee
Return from loan spell
    Sheraldo Becker Forward 30 June 2015   PEC Zwolle -
    Lerin Duarte Midfielder 30 June 2015   Heerenveen -
    Mickey van der Hart Goalkeeper 30 June 2015   Go Ahead Eagles -
    Bas Kuipers Defender 30 June 2015   Excelsior -
    Ruben Ligeon Defender 30 June 2015   NAC Breda -
    Lesly de Sa Forward 30 June 2015   Go Ahead Eagles -
Loan
    Yaya Sanogo Forward 17 July 2015   Arsenal -
Transfer
    Arkadiusz Milik Forward 1 April 2015   Bayer Leverkusen €2,800,000
    Francesco Antonucci Midfielder 5 May 2015   Anderlecht €500,000
    Nemanja Gudelj Midfielder 6 May 2015   AZ €6,000,000
    Dragiša Gudelj Defender 9 May 2015   NAC Breda €150,000
    Mitchell Dijks Defender 19 June 2015   Willem II €1,000,000
    Kasper Dolberg Forward 30 June 2015   Silkeborg €270,000
    Amin Younes Midfielder 15 July 2015   Borussia Mönchengladbach €1,500,000
Free Transfer
    John Heitinga Defender 25 June 2015   Hertha BSC -
    Keshone Mettendaf Midfielder 30 June 2015   Almere City -
    Frenkie de Jong Midfielder 24 August 2015   Willem II -

Departures

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  • The following players moved from AFC Ajax.
Name Position Transfer type New club Fee
Out on loan
    Xavier Mous Goalkeeper 30 June 2015   Oss -
    Peter Leeuwenburgh Goalkeeper 30 June 2015   Dordrecht -
    Sheraldo Becker Forward 30 June 2015   PEC Zwolle -
    Ruben Ligeon Defender 30 June 2015   Willem II -
    Lesly de Sa Forward 30 June 2015   Willem II -
    Richairo Zivkovic Forward 30 June 2015   Willem II -
    Queensy Menig Forward 27 July 2015   PEC Zwolle -
    Lucas Andersen Midfielder 24 August 2015   Willem II -
Loan return
    Niki Zimling Midfielder 30 June 2015   Mainz 05 -
Transfer
    Kolbeinn Sigþórsson Forward 1 July 2015   Nantes €3,500,000
    Ricardo Kishna Forward 27 July 2015   Lazio €4,000,000
Free Transfer
    Tom Noordhoff Defender 29 April 2015   Telstar -
    Marvin Höner Forward 20 May 2015   SV Rödinghausen -
    Sinan Keskin Forward 20 May 2015   Utrecht -
    Joost Meendering Goalkeeper 28 May 2015   HVV Hollandia -
    Melvin Vissers Midfielder 29 May 2015   Sparta Rotterdam -
    Bas Kuipers Defender 20 June 2015   Excelsior -
    Mike Grim Goalkeeper 23 June 2015   Almere City -
    Niklas Moisander Defender 30 June 2015   Sampdoria -
    James Efmorfidis Midfielder 30 June 2015   AZ -
    Shaquill Sno Defender 30 June 2015 -
    Samet Bulut Forward 30 June 2015   PEC Zwolle -
    Fabian Sporkslede Midfielder 16 July 2015   Chievo -
    Donyell Malen Forward 24 July 2015   Arsenal -
    Abdel Malek El Hasnaoui Midfielder 11 August 2015   PEC Zwolle -
    Mickey van der Hart Goalkeeper 14 August 2015   PEC Zwolle -

Winter transfer window

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For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the winter window (1 January 2016 to 1 February 2016) please see List of Dutch football transfers winter 2015–16.

Arrivals

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  • The following players moved to AFC Ajax.
Name Position Transfer type New club Fee
Return from loan spell
    Frenkie de Jong Midfielder 1 January 2016   Willem II -
    Peter Leeuwenburgh Goalkeeper 5 January 2016   Dordrecht -
    Richairo Zivkovic Forward 31 January 2016   Willem II -
    Ruben Ligeon Defender 31 January 2016   Willem II -

Departures

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  • The following players moved from AFC Ajax.
Name Position Transfer type New club Fee
Out on loan
    Óttar Magnús Karlsson Forward 2 January 2015   Sparta Rotterdam -
    Zakaria El Azzouzi Forward 4 January 2015   Twente -
    Lerin Duarte Midfielder 31 January 2015   NAC Breda -
    Ruben Ligeon Defender 31 January 2016   Utrecht -
Return from loan spell
    Yaya Sanogo Forward 31 January 2016   Arsenal -
Free Transfer
    Dejan Meleg Forward 3 January 2016   Vojvodina -
    John Heitinga Defender 31 January 2016 -

References

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  1. ^ "Reglementen betaald voetbal Seizoen 2015/'16" [Regulations professional football 2015–16 season] (pdf) (in Dutch). Royal Dutch Football Association. p. 44. Retrieved 19 May 2016.