Manchester United: Three Ajax players to keep an eye on ahead of the Europa League final

Following the fact that Jose Mourinho and his men have failed to finish in the top four this Premier League campaign, their attention will now be on the Europa League final, the only way that Manchester United can qualify for Champions League football next season.

During gameweek 32 in the Dutch league, Feyenoord went into first place as Ajax suffered 1-0 in the hands of PSV Eindhoven and it meant that Peter Bosz’s side had no option but to go all out within the Europa League competition. Last weekend, Feyenoord won the Eredivise in the final fixture of the season and Ajax now have a ten day rest before playing in the final of the European competition at the Friends Arena in Stockholm.

Here are the three Ajax players that could give the Red Devils a hard time in the Europa League final…

Davinson Sanchez

Having only missed two league games throughout the season, centre-back Davinson Sanchez has been a superb and consistent player for Ajax after he was brought for a figure of €5million from Colombian side Atletico Nacional last summer. Standing at six foot one inches tall, the youngster is proving to be aerially dominant on both sides of the pitch, with four of his six league goals coming from headers.

The 20-year-old is clearly reaping the rewards of his intelligent decision making as he was close to joining Barcelona at the end of last season, however, he decided that he would rather play for the first team of Ajax instead of the Barcelona B-team. On top of that, Sanchez has been recently picked up the Rinus Michels award as Ajax’s player of the season. He is also known to be a no-nonsense centre-back that can pick out a perfect pass from the backline.

Hakim Ziyech

Bagging seven goals and 11 assists in 28 league appearances, Hakim Ziyech is continuing to establish himself as one of the best attacking-minded players within the Eredivise this campaign. Enjoying his time over the years at mid-table clubs in Heerenveen and FC Twente, he has ended the season with the same amount of assists along with Feyenoord’s Nicolai Jorgensen and Heerenveen’s Sam Larsson but in fewer appearances.

In the 4-1 victory over Ligue 1 side Lyon in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final, the Moroccan playmaker proved to a lot of people that he is the real deal as he produced three important assists to make sure that Ajax will be able to go into the reverse fixture with a big lead in their hands. Also, his work rate on and off the ball is something to admire as he constantly presses high up the pitch which leads the opposition into making mistakes.

Kasper Dolberg

Already being seen as one of the most exciting prospects within Europe, Kasper Dolberg is certainly enjoying his debut season at the Sportpark De Toekomst, contributing directly to 22 of Ajax’s 79 goals in the Eredivise this campaign. The Danish hitman made an instant impact into life in Netherlands as he broke the record of Rafael van der Vaart and became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the league.

Dolberg’s movement within the final third of the pitch is second to none and it allows him to draw centre-backs out of position, leading to his team-mates having the licence to roam into that extra space through the middle. Due to his impressive rise from the club’s youth academy to side’s main squad, the 19-year-old has managed to receive comparisons to individuals such as Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp.