Serero ends speculation, nails his colours to the Ajax mast
THULANI Serero has given the biggest hint yet that he will be staying at Ajax Amsterdam after saying he wants to win the Dutch Eredivisie with the team this season and reach the latter stages of the Uefa Champions League.
The second part might be a stretch, but it shows that Serero expects to be with the club next May after months of speculation that he would be exiting the Amsterdam side.
He evaded the question of his future while on national team duty with Bafana last month, and has resumed training with Ajax this week.
He says his focus is on achieving silverware with the Dutch club, where he has played since 2011 and is now a firm fixture in the side.
“It’s nice that I have started training again,” he told his club’s website.
“I did not have a long vacation, in total I was free for two weeks and I spent that time with family and friends.
“I really enjoyed it, but for me it was long enough; I love football and I prefer to just play all the time, so I don’t mind starting training again.
“Most players don’t like pre-season and it is not my favourite time of the year,” he said.
“I think it is much more fun to play games, but it is necessary and we have a month to get fully fit.”
Asked what he wanted to achieve this season, Serero was clear in his thinking: “My goal is to reach the group stages of the Uefa Champions League with Ajax and to be league champions again with the club.”
Ajax lost out on the league title to PSV Eindhoven last season, the first time they have not won the league since Serero joined the club.
Ajax start their new campaign with an away trip to A Z Alkmaar on August 9.