Juventus Transfers: Mohamed Ihattaren closing in on Ajax loan

Dutchman Mohamed Ihattaren is closing in on an 18-month loan to Ajax after his disastrous spell at Sampdoria was cut short.

Ihattaren joined Juventus from PSV on deadline day last summer and was immediately loaned out to Samp for the 2021/22 campaign. However, the teenager failed to make an appearance for the Serie A outfit and he recently disclosed his Ligurian nightmare in an interview with Dutch outlet Telegraaf.

Sampdoria understandably didn’t take too lightly to Ihattaren’s claims and they described the allegations as “fanciful”.

Nevertheless, that chapter of Ihattaren’s career has drawn to a premature close. Juventus have since been proactive in their attempts to identify another suitor for the creative teen this month.

Mohamed Ihattaren is closing in on a loan move to Dutch giants Ajax

For some time, it appeared that Ihattaren would join hometown club Utrecht on loan for the remainder of the season. However, Telegraaf reporter Mike Verweij reported on Thursday morning that the player is set to join Ajax after holding “very positive” talks with manager Erik ten Hag.

Ihattaren’s agent, Ali Dursun, has spoken to Ajax director Marc Overmars over a potential move and Overmars along with Ten Hag are said to have previously been charmed by the once precocious playmaker. Should Ihattaren sign for the Amsterdamers, Ten Hag will shoulder plenty of the responsibility in rejuvenating the young Dutchman’s career.

After starring in a disjointed PSV side under Mark van Bommel, Ihattaren, who was distinctly affected by the death of his father in 2019, was eventually ostracised by Van Bommel’s successor Roger Schmidt before he made the move to Juventus.

Regarding the transfer, Fabrizio Romano adds that Juventus have approved of the loan move with an option to buy potentially being included in the deal. The initial loan period could be 18 months as opposed to six.