Owen Wijndal's Surprising Resurgence at Ajax

Owen Wijndal was supposed to be gone by now.

Last summer, Ajax had effectively closed his chapter. A left-back who had slipped down the pecking order, told he could leave, even saying his goodbyes in the dressing room. The club explored terminating his contract. The message was clear: the future was somewhere else.

And then the move collapsed at the last moment.

In most cases, that kind of aborted exit leaves a player drifting on the fringes, training in the shadows, waiting for the next window. Wijndal chose a different route. He fought his way back into the picture and is now in a run of form few inside or outside the club saw coming.

"I've had to fight my way back a few times already," he told De Telegraaf. "Of course I'm happy with how things are going now. But at the same time, I know how football works. You're only as good as your last match."

The context makes his resurgence even more striking. Technical director Jordi Cruyff had already moved on, at least on paper. Ajax brought in two left-backs, Caio Henrique and Jofre Torrents, a double signing that looked like the final verdict on Wijndal’s future. When two players arrive in your position, it rarely signals a long-term role for you.

It seemed over. For the club, and for him.

Inside Ajax, people were ready to turn the page. The willingness to let him go was not hidden. Discussions about ending his contract underlined how far he had fallen from the plans. Then came the whispers: Wijndal, some claimed, did not want to leave because of his generous salary.

He has heard that story often enough.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! The salary, right?" he said, laughing. "I do hear that a lot, but it really isn't true. I can earn good money at other clubs too. If money had been the most important thing, I'd have left long ago."

He went further, clearly keen to put that narrative to bed.

"That story about my salary simply isn't true," he continued. "I stayed because I wanted to be at Ajax and because I still wanted to show what I can do here. That has always been my motivation."

This is not the language of a player marking time. It is the sound of someone who believes his Ajax story is still being written, not archived.

The irony is hard to miss. A year ago, the club actively pushed him towards the exit. Now, with his form back and his confidence restored, the conversation may soon flip: does Ajax want to keep him longer?

For now, there have been no talks, no concrete signals from the boardroom. Wijndal is honest about that. He would listen, though.

"For Wijndal, his chapter at Ajax is far from over," the situation around him suggests. He admits he does not know how the club feel about extending his contract, but he would be open to it. "It would be quite funny, considering everything that has happened over the past few years. Of course I would think about it if Ajax want me to stay."

There is a certain calm in how he views it. No demands, no public pressure.

"I've been here quite a long time now. But I haven't heard anything yet, and as long as that's the case, there's little point in thinking about it too much."

His deal runs until mid-2027. Time is on his side. The question is whether Ajax now see him as a bridge to that date or a pillar beyond it.