Ajax against the clock: Kehrer must be done by 20:00, and PSV are waiting on Friday
The Dutch window shuts on Wednesday, but the French one closes tonight at 20:00 — and that is the deadline that decides whether Ajax get their defender. Meanwhile PSV buy a 17-year-old, Feyenoord empty their attack and AZ quietly top the table.
One detail makes today an odd day in Dutch football: the window in the Netherlands does not close tonight. The federation's deadline runs to Wednesday 2 September at 23:59, so Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord have a day more than Italy, England, Spain and France. The problem is that the clubs on the other side of their deals do not.
Ajax and the race against a French clock
That is exactly the Thilo Kehrer situation. Ajax want to take the German centre-back on loan from Monaco: 29 years old, 28 caps, a career that runs through Schalke, Paris Saint-Germain and West Ham, and the top candidate to bring experience to a defence that needs it.
The issue is the timing. Ligue 1 closes at 20:00 tonight, and the French side of the deal has to be completed by then, even though Ajax could register him tomorrow. In other words: they have hours, not a day and a half, and it is not in their hands.
Elsewhere in Amsterdam, Ivorian winger Simon Adingra is arriving on loan from Sunderland, Youri Baas stays after talks with Porto broke down, and Youri Regeer is heading to Werder Bremen.
PSV bet on a 17-year-old
The simplest and most advanced deal belongs to PSV, who have agreed with Bodø/Glimt for Mikkel Bro Hansen: a Danish forward of seventeen, around €3 million, contract until 2029. He already has fifteen first-team appearances in Norway with eight goals and three assists, numbers that explain why Ajax had tracked him in the past.
Feyenoord are emptying their attack
The opposite problem in Rotterdam, where the job is not buying but avoiding being left without forwards. Casper Tengstedt, signed last year from Benfica, is going to Toulouse for €4 million plus bonuses. Ayase Ueda is on his way to Lille, and there is a real chance he has already played his last game for the club. Feyenoord are still looking for a striker and a goalkeeper, with a free agent identified.
Outside the big three, Myron Boadu, released by PSV in July, is due for a Watford medical today and would arrive on a free.
What the table says, and it is a surprise
The Eredivisie picture after four rounds tells a story nobody expected: AZ Alkmaar lead with twelve points from twelve. Behind them PSV have ten, Feyenoord eight and Ajax seven, with a game in hand.
And on Friday it is Ajax vs PSV
The calendar has put the classic right here: Ajax vs PSV is played on Friday 5 September, four days after the window shuts. Both clubs are buying until the last available minute knowing they meet immediately, and whoever completes a signing in time could put him straight into that game.
A necessary warning: none of the deals described here is official yet. They are agreements reported by the Dutch press and specialist journalists, without club statements, and the figures are indications rather than confirmed data. On a day like this, deals collapse until the final second.
All Eredivisie predictions stay updated until kick-off, and the individual player calls are in the Player Predictions section.
