Football is full of little sliding doors moments.
In the summer transfer window, Dutch champions Ajax tried, unsuccessfully, to acquire an established striker.
For the most part, over the last two years, manager Erik Ten Hag had been partial to playing Serbian schemer Dusan Tadic upfront. The reasoning was that the former Southampton man would act as a 'false 9', drifting out wide to combine with the wingers, but also dropping off the last line to allow a runner – usually Donny Van De Beek – to attack the box from deep.
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However, as soon as it became clear Van De Beek was off to Manchester United, a more traditional striker became a priority.