After making his debut for Ajax's first team last season, Abdellah Ouazane has featured regularly for Michel Sanchez's team this season.

Ouazane, who made his debut for the Moroccan national team in September, has made 20 appearances for Ajax this season in all competitions, scoring three goals and assisting five.

Ajax signed Simon Adingra on loan to replace Mika Godts, who joined Paris Saint-Germain during the summer transfer window. However, Adingra's time in Amsterdam so far has been hampered by an injury, and he has only made one appearance for the Amsterdammers.

With Adingra rarely fit, the minutes on the left wing have been mainly shared between Oscar Gloukh and Ouazane. Gloukh has started the majority of games, with Ouazane often coming on as a substitute.

Ouazane also started on the right wing against FC Midtjylland in the Conference League, a game which Ajax won 1-6.

While Michel Sanchez has used Ouazane on the flanks, the 17-year-old often played in midfield for Jong Ajax.

Speaking to Sportnieuws, former Ajax and Netherlands manager Danny Blind compared Ouazane and Gloukh, and he also explained why playing on the wings poses a different kind of challenge for Ouazane than playing in midfield.

"Gloukh is, of course, also a talented lad, but he is not as good as Ouazane in the final stages. We have seen that a few times already," Blind explained.

I saw Ouazane play from midfield in the youth teams, and he is truly fantastic there. He can also move in more directions. On the wing, it becomes a bit more difficult if the opponent is double-marking. But I would start him."

Julian Brandt joined Ajax in the summer on a free transfer, and the German midfielder has been outstanding so far. 

He has started the vast majority of games for Ajax this season, but has missed the last two games against Midtjylland and Twente through an injury which he suffered in Ajax's 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar.

In Brandt's absence, Michel Sanchez has opted to use Jorthy Mokio as a no. 10. Mokio has often started as a no. 8 this season, but Michel reportedly sees him as a viable option in a more advanced role due to how good he is in the high press.

Mokio is good at arriving in space and getting into goal-scoring positions, but he is not the most creative player. In the game against Twente especially, Ajax really lacked creativity in midfield and struggled to put John van den Brom's side under any kind of sustained pressure throughout the game.

Ajax generally struggled to progress the ball up the pitch due to the fact that Twente are an exceptional pressing team, but starting Ouazane would have given Ajax extra quality in the final third and would have potentially made them more dangerous when they did have the ball in more advanced areas.