Dusan Tadic enjoyed an incredible five year spell with Ajax from 2018 to 2023, winning three Eredivisie titles, two KNVB Cups and one Johan Cruijff Schaal.

In 241 appearances for Ajax, Tadic scored 105 goals and registered 108 assists across all competitions. The Serbian was part of the Ajax team that reached the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2018, and Tadic registered an incredible 38 goals and 22 assists during that season.

Tadic left Ajax and moved to Fenerbahçe in 2023, where he played for two seasons. He then moved to Al-Wahda in the United Arab Emirates, where he played for one year before leaving.

Tadic returned to the Eredivisie in the summer, moving to NEC Nijmegen on a free transfer. The 37-year-old confirmed that he held talks with Ajax technical director Jordi Cruijff over a potential return to Amsterdam, but Cruijff only offered him a role as a coach, while Tadic wants to keep playing.

Tadic will return to the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Saturday night as NEC Nijmegen travel to Amsterdam to face Ajax in the first game after the international break.

In an interview with NU.nl, Tadic spoke about his feelings going into the game, as well as the prospect of returning to Ajax in the future.

"It feels so strange to be standing opposite Ajax in the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Saturday," Tadic explained.

"Ajax was always my dream club. As a kid, I had an Ajax shirt hanging in my room. It was my dream to play for Ajax. I was captain during a fantastic period, in which we made history and won trophies. Of course, Ajax has changed. But honestly? It remains my dream club. It will be an emotional evening for me; I know that already.

"In Nijmegen, too, I want to help young players develop. But I have to behave slightly differently here than at Ajax, because the standard is different. It is very difficult.

"There are so many things to correct at NEC, but of course that is not possible. So I focus on the most important matters. With all due respect to NEC, I was used to playing for clubs that win trophies. Ajax was and is my standard.

"If I score for NEC against Ajax, that will be the most sadistic goal of my career," Tadic said.

"Ajax, my ex-wife? No, Ajax is still my wife. This season, it was still too early, but someday I want to return to Ajax as a coach." 

While Tadic's first spell with Ajax was nothing short of sensational, Cruijff made the right decision in not bringing him back to the club in the summer as a player.

Tadic would have added experience to the squad, but Marc ter Stegen, Daley Blind, Sofyan Amrabat and Julian Brandt all also add significant experience to the squad.

Ajax also have enough options in the positions Tadic can play in. On the left wing, Ajax have Simon Adingra, Oscar Gloukh, Abdellah Ouazane and Oliver Edvardsen. In the No. 10 position, Ajax signed Brandt, who has been fantastic in the early stages of this season. He has already scored six goals in all competitions and will likely be pivotal to everything Ajax do this season. He has everything to be one of the best players in the Eredivisie. Ouazane and Gloukh can both play as the No. 10, too.

At 37 years of age, Tadic's best days are now behind him. Ajax now need to look towards the future, which Ouazane will hopefully be a big part of. The Moroccan international has tremendous talent, and Ajax need to give him the platform to showcase that talent.