DBasia.news – It may be cliché but there are few academies producing more talented young players today than Ajax.
The Dutch giants are, of course, renowned for their ability to develop potential stars, but their current yields may prove to be some of the best. Naci Unuvar, Ryan Gravenberch, Lassina Traore, Jurrien Timber, Kenneth Taylor and Brian Brobbey have all been named for varying degrees of greatness, but along with that has also come interest from other top European clubs.
Their latest production is striker Sontje Hansen, who celebrated his 18th birthday in mid-May last year. Juventus, Inter Milan and RB Leipzig have been monitoring his progress, but it is Manchester City who are said to be leading the race to obtain players who are capable of exerting influence both at club and at international level.
After helping the Netherlands defend the U-17 Euro in the summer of 2019, Hansen then announced himself on the global stage by winning the Golden Boot as top scorer at the U-17 World Cup later that year, with his six goals, which included an impressive hat-trick against him. Nigeria in the quarter-finals – taking the Oranje to the semi-finals, where they lost on penalties to Mexico.
Hansen’s appearance did not go unnoticed, even Barcelona star Antoine Griezmann reportedly messaged the player directly on social media to let him know how impressed he was with the “little boss”.
Meanwhile, returning to Amsterdam, he was quickly promoted to Jong Ajax, and scored on his debut in second-tier Dutch football against SC Cambuur on December 13, 2020. His celebration is to put fingers on both ears to mute the home crowd.
“It’s great that we kept those 8,000 fans speechless after 80 minutes,” he said of his late goal. “I only knew I was going to get one chance. I didn’t get many chances, but if I got one, I usually scored a goal. It was quality. I actually wanted to take off my shirt, but Naci [Unuvar] stopped me, so I did something else. “
Five days later, the confident young player made his first-team debut against Telstar in the KNVB Cup before being put on by Erik ten Hag for the final 11 minutes of the Eredivisie match against ADO Den Haag on December 22.
It proved to be Hansen’s only first-team appearance before the suspension of the season in the Netherlands due to Covid-19, but he is showing a brief glimpse to show more opportunities to come in 2021, even if he finds it difficult to keep up with top-level football at times.
“Sontje is doing very well and something good is coming soon,” were Ten Hag’s words when asked if the teenager might get another chance at the highest level after being impressive during the club’s mid-season training camp.
Injury, unfortunately, has cut his time short with the first team in early 2020 and he is yet to feature in Ten Hag’s squad, but it is understood he will be given more opportunities to feature when football returns in the fall.
Hansen began his football education about 45 kilometers outside Amsterdam at local club HSV Sport 1889, where he was described by youth team director, Rob van Drimmelen as “a little kid with a thumb in his mouth who loves to play football.”
From there, he joined amateur club SV Always Forward in the city of Hoorn and, at the age of 11, he accepted offers from Ajax and AZ.
He chose the first – a decision his mother, Sonaida, saw with pride, having previously struggled to provide for Sontje and his older brother, Ricky, who spent time with Reading when they were young.
“I am a single mother and I always struggle to give everything to my child,” she told Ajax’s official website after Hansen signed his first contract with the club in May 2018. “Sometimes it’s challenging and I’m going through tough times financially.”
Sonaida has always played a key role in the football journey of her two sons, having previously refereed their junior matches and provided cookies for the other players and parents to enjoy.
However, with limited money, she has been forced to rely on charity, Stichting Leergeld, which helps provide her son with the equipment he needs to continue playing the sport they enjoy. Hansen is now one of the charity ambassadors.
On the pitch, Hansen – who is able to play both winger and center-forward – has only one year left on the contract he signed in 2018, and there is a feeling across Europe that he could be available for as little as 6 million euros (7.3 million dollars) on this summer.