The seemingly never-ending production line that is Ajax’s storied academy, shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. The next star of the academy could well be 16-year-old Ryan Gravenberch.

On 23rd September 2018, Gravenberch made his debut for the Ajax senior team away at bitter rivals PSV Eindhoven in a 3-0 Eredivisie defeat. In the process, the Dutchman became the youngster player to ever represent Ajax in the Eredivisie at 16 years and 130 days, surpassing Ajax great Clarence Seedorf who previously held the record of 16 years and 242 days.

A member of the Ajax academy since 2010, the youngster has worked his way up through the age groups and despite being only 16 is already a regular at U19 level. After making his debut for Jong Ajax in a 5-2 win against FC Dordrecht in August 2018, the following month Gravenberch became the youngest goalscorer in UEFA Youth League history when he netted against AEK Athens.

Gravenberch won consecutive ABN AMRO Future Cups in 2017 and 2018. A tournament, hosted by Ajax which features some of the world’s best U17 youth teams including the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United and Bayern Munich. In 2017, the Dutch youngster was named the best player in the 2017 tournament, joining an impressive list of former winners including Matthijs De Ligt, Barcelona’s Riqui Puig and Abdelhak Nouri.

Never far away from success, Gravenberch was also a key figure in the Netherlands U17 team that won the UEFA European U17 Championship hosted by England in 2018. Playing alongside a number of his club teammates including Brian Brobbey and Liam Van Gelderen, Gravenberch helped the Netherlands defeat Italy 4-2 on penalties in the final after the game finished 2-2.

Impressively, Gravenberch in just his second game with the Ajax first team played 90 minutes and scored the seventh goal in a 7-0 KNVB Beker cup win against HVV Te Werve.

Comparisons to Paul Pogba are rife in Gravenberch’s game with his effortless ability to glide through games with his height, physicality, and extreme technical ability. Like Pogba his height combined with his dribbling ability makes him an extremely difficult proposition to stop in full flow.

The Ajax youngster is normally deployed in central midfield as an attacking playmaker. Not just technically and physically gifted, Gravenberch also has the uncanny ability to seamlessly float into goal scoring positions and be clinical when the chance presents itself.

Despite being just 16-years-old the Netherlands youth international already plays like a much older more experienced pro. As Gravenberch continues to develop in the Ajax academy, the fact he is only going to get physically stronger and technically sounder makes it a very scary prospect for a player who already has world-class potential.

As Ajax’s youngest ever player, Gravenberch certainly isn’t far away from the first team fold already at 16. You can expect to see the midfielder as a major staple of the Ajax squad within the next couple of seasons he’s just that talented.

In recent years Christian Eriksen, Wesley Sneijder, and Rafael Van der Vaart are just a few of the illustrious names to have come through the famed academy of Ajax. The sheer potential Ryan Gravenberch possesses means there is every chance the youngster will reach heights even these Ajax favourites could never achieve.