Brian McVeigh 
David Ramos/Getty Images Sport
They’ve qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, they beat Real Madrid 4-1 in Spain, and they’re the hottest topic right now.
Long have we admired their methods in bringing through youth over foreign imports, by implementing and sticking to their ideas.
Ajax are a big club in European football, of course they are, but up until this week they certainly were not viewed as potential winners of this illustrious competition. They have history, they famously won the tournament in 1995 with a group of young players such as Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids, Ronald and Frank De Boer.
They can buy relatively big name players if they want, although their budget is actually less than that of Celtic’s. Frenkie De Jong is the latest star to attract the big names in Europe and he will join Barcelona in the summer for €65 million.
Why can Celtic not succeed with a similar attitude? They are a big club and can spend big money if they wish – £9 million on Odsonne Edouard in the summer is the club’s current transfer record. Due to the restraints placed on the club when compared to the big teams down south and beyond, Celtic have adopted a fairly successful youth policy.
While not every young player at the club has come through the ranks – Ryan Christie for one – they are all at a club that has a history for giving youth a chance. The likes of Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor, Kris Ajer, Tom Rogic, Olivier Ntcham, Edouard and James Forrest have all been either signed at a young or have come through the ranks.
In the last couple of seasons Celtic have been well and truly thumped by some of the best teams in Europe. This is something the fans have not been happy with, given historical results and performances against the elite clubs. Has this dented the club’s ambition?
Looking at both clubs in isolation, there are some similarities no doubt. Celtic play in a bigger stadium, although the size of the Netherlands dwarfs Scotland by three to one in terms of population. Ajax play in a league with more big-name teams, but the Scottish Premiership is becoming a very competitive platform now so there can be no excuse for complacency.
Going into the campaign for Champions League qualification, assuming the domestic title is secured for an eighth successive time, there should be no reason why Celtic cannot take a leaf out of the Ajax’s book and look up rather than looking down.
