A reporter stuck a microphone in Matthijs de Ligt’s face and asked the Ajax defender to choose a favourite out of Barcelona and Manchester City last month. The trap was obvious but De Ligt was too cute to walk into it. He shrugged his shoulders, smiled and gave a simple reply: “Ajax”.

But while it was smoothly done by the 19-year-old, Ajax are all too aware one soundbite will not be enough to drown out the noise when money starts to talk. Even though they are primed to reach the knockout phase of the Champions League for the first time since 2006, it is their misfortune to know their pedigree cannot protect them from the financial might of Europe’s leading clubs. Their list of honours contains four European Cups but history alone is not enough to lift Ajax up the economic ladder.

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The challenge presented by the market forces dominating European football’s hierarchy is the unfortunate consequence of playing in a less fashionable league. Marc Overmars, Ajax’s director of football, insists De Ligt will not be sold to Barça in January. Similar talk is applied to Frenkie de Jong, a gifted 21-year-old midfielder. Yet Overmars, who joined Arsenal two years after helping a great Ajax side win the Champions League in 1995, only has to look back to his own playing career to know how it will probably play out.

It has been that way for Ajax for three decades. In the past two summers they have lost Davy Klaassen to Everton, Davinson Sánchez to Tottenham and Justin Kluivert to Roma. In 2017 a dashing side inspired a younger generation by reaching a European final for the first time in 21 years. For footballing romantics, it was tempting to conclude Ajax were back. Yet they lost that Europa League final to José Mourinho’s stolid Manchester United and soon found themselves looking for a manager after Borussia Dortmund hired Peter Bosz as Thomas Tuchel’s replacement.

Had it been another false dawn? It felt like it when Ajax compounded their failure to progress from the qualifying phase of last season’s Champions League by losing a Europa League playoff to Rosenborg. The promise of a new golden era seemed to be fading, with Marcel Keizer not lasting long as Bosz’s replacement.

However, optimism has returned under Erik ten Hag and a youthful side have shown no fear in the Champions League this season, rising to the top of Group E after picking up seven points from their first three games. AEK Athens and Benfica were beaten at the Johan Cruyff Arena, while there was an eye-catching draw with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in September.

It is easy to understand why Edwin van der Sar, Ajax’s chief executive, calls the competition “a playground for the rich and the famous”. The odds are tipped in the favour of the super rich. Yet Ajax showed no fear against Bayern, even after falling behind to an early goal from Mats Hummels. Noussair Mazraoui, a 20-year-old Moroccan midfielder, grabbed the equaliser and the visitors had chances to snatch a famous victory.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Noussair Mazraoui, right, celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Benfica. Photograph: Soccrates Images/Getty Images

Ajax, who visit Benfica on Wednesday, are increasingly reliant on their tyros. De Ligt already oozes class in defence, the hype surrounding De Jong shows no sign of slowing down and Hakim Ziyech’s creativity on the flanks continues to impress. Ten Hag has Kasper Dolberg, a 21-year-old Danish striker, leading the line most weeks, and there have also been encouraging performances in midfield from Donny van de Beek, a 21-year-old Netherlands international. As for Mazraoui, he backed up his exploits against Bayern by scoring the last-minute winner against Benfica last month.

These performances are a vindication of Ajax’s determination not to look for quick fixes. Their task is to keep the production line moving, to find new ways to innovate, to trust in an academy that has produced so many wonderful talents down the years.

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“We want to bring our own players through,” Van der Sar told the Guardian in 2017. “That is what people like about Ajax. It’s what they liked in the 70s and the 90s, the way the football was played with Johan Cruyff. Then with Louis van Gaal and Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars and the De Boers. We hope to create that again. It’s what people want. The academy coach of the under-11s to the coach in the first team, they know what kind of club we are and hopefully that is enough to regain a spot near the elite.”

Despite those noble sentiments from the former Netherlands goalkeeper, a renewed focus on youth is yet to lead to a return in the glory days. Even domestically, Ajax have struggled. PSV Eindhoven are the Dutch champions and Feyernoord reigned in 2017. Ajax have not lifted a major trophy since finishing top in 2014 and are already five points behind the leaders, PSV, this season.

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Yet an air of mystique will always hover over a club who play at the Johan Cruyff Arena. The likelihood is De Ligt and De Jong will wear Barça’s colours one day. But if that happens, Ajax will simply have to stay true to their identity by looking within again.