De Boer lines up Eriksen replacements

Ajax Amsterdam head coach Frank de Boer has revealed he will replace Christian Eriksen from within if the Danish midfielder leaves the club.

Eriksen has been linked with a move away from the Eredivisie champions throughout the off-season with Liverpool having shown consistent interest in the 21-year-old playmaker, who has only one year left on his contract with Ajax.

While the loss of Eriksen will leave a big hole in Ajax’s line-up, de Boer believes the Amsterdam-based club are better off promoting from within their current squad than trying to buy a ready-made replacement.

“It is not possible for us to replace Eriksen by buying a player of similar quality,” de Boer told De Telegraaf.

“So it is better for us to look to replace him from within and I am thinking about people like Lasse Schoene, Davy Klaassen, Thulani Serero and (Riechedly) Bazoer.”

Eriksen has reportedly rejected a move to Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, while he has also been linked with Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Tottenham.

Last season, the Danish international played 46 games in all competitions for Ajax and scored 13 goals, while he also notched 23 assists as de Boer led the club to a third consecutive Eredivisie title.

Another Dane, Schoene, appears to be in the box seat to take over Eriksen’s central playmaking role after generally playing deeper in midfield last season, although he made his name in the Netherlands as an attacking midfielder for NEC Nijmegen.

Klaassen could be the other main option for De Boer after the 20-year-old former Dutch youth international missed the majority of last season with a groin injury.