FIFA 23 Ajax Career Mode Guide - Starting lineup, who to sign & more

Ajax is renowned for developing young talents into superstars, and that is reflected in their squad and board expectations in FIFA 23 Career Mode.

Whilst doing that, you will also be required to bring success to the club in the league and cups, so there will be a lot on your plate!

Team Rating

Ajax has a four-star rating in FIFA 23.

The breakdown of the ratings is as follows: ATT 80, MID 78, DEF 77.

Starting Lineup and Formation

Ajax starts with a 4-3-3 Holding formation, and we are keeping this, but adjusting the RCM to a CAM.

You could also go for a 4-2-3-1 Narrow, but we don't think the side needs to play with two CDMs.

We moved Steven Berghuis from midfield onto the RW, as he gives more pace than Dusan Tadic, who switches to the CAM position.

Brian Brobbey has taken over as striker, giving us an out-and-out forward rather than the False 9 role Mohammed Kudus would play.

The front three is finished off with Steven Bergwijn on the LW, who can offer decent pace to get in behind defences.

As mentioned, Tadic takes up the new CAM position in midfield, with Davy Klaassen brought in at CM, and Edson Alvarez sitting behind the two at CDM.

Both full-backs have been switched, with Jorge Sanchez at RB and Owen Wijndal at LB our personal preference, although keeping it as Devyne Rensch and Daly Blind is perfectly fine too.

Jurrien Timber is partnered with new signing Calvin Bassey, with the two having a great combination of being physical and mobile.

Remko Pasveer is the man between the posts.

Tactics and Instructions

Ajax is set up to play incredibly attacking football and we're not going to change a thing about the tactics.

That means defensively the side will put Pressure On Heavy Touch and hold a very high line - something made more effective by having two pacey CBs.

In attack it will be a Slow Build Up and Possession game, flooding the box with players and waiting for that perfect moment to play a killer ball.

The combination of these should suffocate other teams, keeping them trapped in their own half - but watch out for quick and direct counterattacks!

We have given Berghuis a Free Roam role and done the same with Tadic, so the two can interchange on the right side of attacks.

Brobbey is the only man in attack we want playing with a fixed position, so he is told to Stay Central and Stay Forward to keep him as close to the goal as possible, and he also loses the False 9 previously set for that position for Mixed Attacks.

Alvarez is told to Stay Back While Attacking and Cover Center to give the side some defensive cover and stop counter-attacks through the middle.

Both full-backs are told to Join the Attack in order to provide more passing options, overload the opposition, and defend from a higher starting position.

Training

As you would expect, Ajax has many talented youngsters in their ranks on FIFA 23.

Make sure you train up Timber (POT 88), Kenneth Taylor (POT 86), Francisco Conceicao (POT 86), Bassey (POT 85), Brobbey (POT 85), Kudus (POT 85), Rensch (POT 84), Alvarez (POT 84), Bergwijn (POT 83), Wijndal (POT 83), Sanchez (POT 82), Jay Gorter (POT 82), Jay Fitz-Jim (POT 81), Youri Regeer (POT 81) and Ahmetcan Kaplan (POT 79)!

Transfer Market

Starting budget: £31 million

Who should go?

Ajax has a pretty lean squad and we would rather add to it than get rid of players, but some tough decisions need to be made.

Decide now on the futures of Tadic, Berghuis, Blind and Klaasen - either sell them now and make the most money out of them as you can, or they will likely retire with the club.

It's tough because they all play a part in the first team, however, their sales could add £70 million to your budget, allowing you to invest in some youngsters with higher potential.

The squad does already have players that can replace them, but they aren't of the same quality.

Then, get rid of Youri Baas, Maarten Stekelenburg, Kik Pieire and Lisandro Magallan, as none of them are or will be good enough to make the first team.

Loans

We've already mentioned there isn't much squad depth, so be careful if you are going to send anyone out on loan, but if you do it should be Fitz-Kim, Regeer and Kaplan.

Ajax has four players out on loan already, with Naci Unuvar (POT 85), Mohamed Daramy (POT 81) and Anass Salah-Eddine (POT 79) worth keeping an eye on.

Mohamed Ihattaren, Lucas Ocampos and Lorenzo Lucca are all on loan at the club, so be prepared for them to leave, with Ihattaren going at the end of December.

Who to sign?

Obviously, who you sign will be impacted by whether you choose to sell the older members of the squad or not, but the main goal is generally the same - invest in promising youngsters to add to the squad's depth.

We would advise adding another CB or two, a box-to-box midfielder, a LB and a ST to the ranks.

Transfer Options (CB)

You can either bring in a backup striker or a better starting striker to lead the line while Brobbey improves, the choice is yours.

A player that can occupy the CAM and RW positions would also be a good investment if Tadic and Berghuis are gone.

Board Expectations

The board are very demanding so make sure you keep an eye on all the tasks expected of you in FIFA 23.

It is no surprise that Youth Development is a critical priority, where we were asked to sign three players younger than 20 with greater potential than the current players in their positions.

Brand Exposure is also critical, again, needing to sign two young players, and also score in 10 away matches.

The third - and thankfully, final - critical task is Domestic Success, where winning the Eredivisie and the Oranje Beker Cup are a must.

It doesn't get much easier after that, with a high priority assigned to the Financial target, where we needed to reduce the player wages by £26,000 a week.

Continental Success is another high priority, needing to reach the quarter-final stage of the Champions League.