“Going from the Netherlands to the Premier League is normal but at such a young age we ask ourselves the question: is it good for these young players?”

The evidence suggests he is right, with Tim Krul at Newcastle United the only teenage transfer regarded by the Dutch as having made the grade in the Premier League, having left Den Haag in 2006, aged 17. There are plenty who have not: Nacer Barazite, who left NEC Nijmegen aged 17 for Arsenal in 2007; Gyliano van Velzen (Ajax to United, aged 18, in 2012); Vincent van den Berg (Heerenveen to Arsenal, aged 18, in 2007); Kyle Ebecilio (Feyenoord to Arsenal, aged 16, 2010).

Ajax accept that they recruit boys from other academies in Holland and across Europe, including the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Vermaelen and Toby Alderweireld, from Belgium, and Christian Eriksen, from Denmark. A spokesman for the club said that all those players had benefited from the chance to develop in the first team before they were sold on.