A new defensive midfielder was a top priority for Ajax going into the summer transfer window, and the Amsterdammers have now reached an agreement to sign Sofyan Amrabat on a free transfer.

According to De Telegraaf, Ajax has reached a verbal agreement with Sofyan Amrabat. The former Manchester United midfielder has terminated his contract with Fenerbahçe and will join Ajax on a free transfer. He will sign a two-year contract with the Eredivisie giants.

According to Matteo Moretto, it is expected that Amrabat will put pen to paper on his Ajax contract between tonight and tomorrow. In recent days, Atlético Madrid maintained significant contact regarding the Moroccan midfielder, but in the last few hours, Ajax has accelerated the negotiations.

Jordi Cruijff has been very active in the free agent market this summer. In addition to Amrabat, Ajax have also signed both Daley Blind and Julian Brandt on free transfers.

Earlier in the window, Ajax showed serious interest in bringing Edson Álvarez back to the club, but a transfer failed to materialise. Before that, Ajax also made a serious attempt to sign Dani Ceballos while he was still under contract at Real Madrid.

Amrabat is potentially a better signing, though. Firstly, Ajax are signing him on a free transfer, while Ajax would have had to pay a transfer fee to West Ham United for Álvarez's signature.

Secondly, there is also a strong argument to be made that Amrabat is a better fit for Ajax. Michel Sanchez needs a defensive midfielder who can protect the back four and make Ajax more solid out of possession. Álvarez would have certainly done that, but so can Amrabat, and the Moroccan is far better on the ball than Álvarez is. 

Amrabat evades pressure well and is progressive on the ball. He is certainly a more reliable player in build-up than Álvarez is. The Mexican might be better out of possession, but Amrabat is certainly the more well-rounded player. Amrabat will be far more useful in helping Ajax dominate games.

The transfer window in the Netherlands closes on 2 September at 23:59. Cruijff has now secured the crucial signing of a new defensive midfielder, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Ajax remain in the market for a new left winger. Reports have claimed that Ajax made an offer for Brian Rodríguez from Club América, but it is unknown how advanced negotiations currently are. Noa Lang was Ajax's top target in that position, but unless something drastically changes, that deal will not be happening.

Ajax remain in the market for a right-footed centre-back, and there is still a chance the club will sign Azzedine Ounahi from Girona. It is seemingly not an easy deal to do, but it has not been ruled out, and Santi Aouna reported on Friday that he had been granted permission to travel to Amsterdam to hold talks with Ajax.