Chelsea have opened up the channels of communication with Ajax regarding a deal for their sought-after defender Jorrel Hato, a report has claimed.
The Dutch left-back moved from Rotterdam to the nation’s capital when he was just 12 to progress through Ajax’s famed youth setup. Last year, the Amsterdam outfit tied their talented academy graduate down to a contract which stretches until 2028, but transfer interest in Hato continues to swell.
The freshly crowned Club World Cup champions are the latest side credited with interest in a player previously tracked by Arsenal, Liverpool and Real Madrid. The Athletic claim that Chelsea have “made an enquiry” into a move for the 19-year-old this summer.
Chelsea’s squad depth is horribly unbalanced. Enzo Maresca currently has nine centre-backs on his books—many of whom don’t plan on leaving—yet could only call upon Marc Cucurella as the sole senior left-back option during the summer’s triumphant Club World Cup campaign.
With Ben Chilwell expected to depart, Hato would offer a youthful—and, crucially, desired—source of competition on the left side of the backline.
Hato won’t stop being a teenager until March yet has already amassed more than a century of appearances for Ajax. The prodigious talent is yet to win a single senior trophy after breaking into the senior side at a time of malaise for the Dutch giants, but he views this strife as a strength.
“I know about the players who get into the first team when they’re 17 or 18 and play in an Ajax team that was dominating the league and going far in Europe,” he reflected last season. “It’s a different situation for me. I have more responsibility than those players. So it’s different, and it is difficult, but I’m doing it well.”
Hato has already amassed six caps for the senior Netherlands international team, lining up alongside Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk. Yet, it is an Arsenal man who he has chosen to hail as a guiding light. “Coaches told me that I always needed to look up to Virgil van Dijk, but when I played in the under-18s, I always looked up to Jurrien Timber,” Hato told The Athletic.
“I played with him for six months before he left, and I learned so much from him. When I came into the first team, he was my mentor. I love his playing style, his calmness on the ball. And he is just a great defender in defending terms.”
If Chelsea can persuade Ajax to part ways with their defensive gem, Hato may find himself lining up against Timber and Van Dijk in the coming Premier League campaign.
