Ajax had to settle for a point in their first game back from the international break.

Tolu Arokodare put Ajax ahead after around 15 minutes with an excellent header, but Tjaronn Chery scored from the spot to level the score.

Ajax pushed for a winner in the second half but failed to find one.

Simon Adingra made his debut for the Amsterdammers. He came on for the final 30 minutes and played on the right wing. Yves Bissouma was also in the squad for the first time, but spent the entirety of the game on the bench.

It is now safe to say that Tolu could well finish the season as the Eredivisie top scorer. The Nigerian striker has everything needed to score more than 20 goals in the Eredivisie.

He is so strong, and it is clear that centre-backs are struggling to handle him. He also has the ability to turn half-chances into goals. The cross from Jorthy Mokio for Tolu's goal against NEC Nijmegen was not actually that good, but the striker still found a way to put it in the back of the net.

He did not have his best game today, but he is already proving to be one of the signings of the season in the Eredivisie, and Jordi Cruijff will almost certainly already be thinking about the possibility of activating the buy option to sign him permanently in the summer.

It was somewhat of a surprise that Ajax decided to sign Viktor Tsygankov in the summer. He is quite similar to Steven Berghuis in the sense that he likes to come into more central areas, as opposed to holding the width. Rayane Bounida also likes to play more centrally.

On the left, Oscar Gloukh and Abdellah Ouazane also like to roam into more central positions. This means that both full-backs have to push high, which leaves Ajax vulnerable to transitions. Even if one stays deep, that means no one is holding the width, which allows the opposition to defend in a more compact shape.

Adingra can hold the width on both the left and right wing, but Ajax ideally needed to sign another winger who could do the same to ensure Michel has enough options, allowing him to be tactically flexible.

Anton Gaaei, Caio Henrique and Owen Wijndal all like to push forward. Lucas Rosa is more defensively minded, but Ajax also ideally needs another full-back who can stay deeper and help in the build-up. 

Aaron Bouwman replaced Lucas Rosa in the 73rd minute, and Thilo Kehrer then moved into the right-back position. That could potentially be one solution to help address the imbalance on the wings for Ajax.

Kehrer can stay deeper and help in the build-up, with Adingra holding the width on the right wing, and the left-back pushing forward, allowing either Ouazane or Gloukh to move into the half-space.

Adingra was obviously signed to play on the left wing, but starting on the right wing could be a short-term solution in certain games. That being said, Adingra did not look particularly comfortable on the right wing.

Oscar Gloukh looked very impressive in the games leading into the international break, but struggled against NEC Nijmegen and was replaced by Ouazane after an hour.

He is always very involved and looks to make things happen, but he is too wasteful at times and needs to improve his finishing. 

It is clear that he has a lot of potential, but he needs to take his game to another level if he wants to continue to start games regularly for Ajax. 

It is still early in the season, but Ajax are already playing catch-up in the title race, as they are five points behind league leaders Feyenoord after just eight games.

It was to be expected that Ajax's performances in the early stages of the season would be poor at times due to the fact that they signed so many new players who need to adapt. That being said, title-winning teams find ways to win games even when they do not play well. The fact that Ajax have only taken two points from two home games against Excelsior and an out-of-form NEC Nijmegen will certainly leave Michel disappointed.

There is still more than enough time to turn it around, but the dropped points in these last two games, as well as the 2-2 draw to SC Heerenveen in August, may prove to be costly at the end of the season.