Ajax Starts Tolu Arokodare Against NEC After Injuries

Ajax changed its lineup for the NEC match on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at Johan Cruijff ArenA as coach Míchel Sánchez dealt with injuries and selected Tolu Arokodare to lead the attack, according to Soccernews and VoetbalPrimeur.

VoetbalPrimeur reported that Marc ter Stegen remained Ajax's starting goalkeeper, while Lucas Rosa, Thilo Kehrer, Youri Baas and Owen Wijndal were expected to form a reshaped defense because of unavailable players.

The report said Anton Gaaei, Caio Henrique and Daley Blind were unavailable, while Aaron Bouwman returned from injury. Jorthy Mokio was also expected to start ahead of Sofyan Amrabat in midfield.

Míchel explained his decision to start Arokodare instead of Marcos Leonardo before the match, with Kasper Dolberg sidelined for the season because of a serious injury.

"Tolu is better started the season, that simple," said Míchel Sánchez, Ajax coach.

The Ajax manager said both strikers remain important options and discussed Leonardo's adaptation. Arokodare later scored an early header from a Jorthy Mokio cross, according to NOS.

"Tolu and Marcos are two important strikers. But Tolu is better started the season, that simple. But we have a lot of confidence that Marcos will be important for the rest of this season," said Míchel Sánchez, Ajax coach.

Leonardo had struggled for consistency after losing his early-season role, while Míchel said the club continued to support the Brazilian forward.

"The role he had at the beginning of the season made him doubt a little. But we have a lot of confidence in him. We have talked a lot about that. We believe he needs to grow to provide the output we expect from him," said Míchel Sánchez, Ajax coach.

Simon Adingra was included as a possible substitute after returning to training, while Yves Bissouma was also available from the bench as he worked toward full match fitness.

"He has trained little, only the last two weeks. But he is very fast and can give us depth. I hope he can help us today in the match," said Míchel Sánchez, Ajax coach.

Bissouma had missed playing time because of injuries and a period without a team, according to Míchel's explanation before the match.

"He is fit, but he lacks match rhythm. He has played little. Last season he missed a lot because of injuries and then he was without a team for a long time.

So he needs minutes. He is ready for that and he can also play today," said Míchel Sánchez, Ajax coach.

NOS reported that Arokodare opened the scoring against NEC with a header and celebrated by holding up a shirt with Dolberg's name in support of his injured teammate.