Ajax make bargain buy of prolific Poland poacher Arkadiusz Milik

Reigning Eredivisie champions Ajax have secured the signing of Poland international forward Arkadiusz Milik, having exercised the right to capture the on-loan striker on a permanent deal.

Former Bayer Leverkusen marksman Milik has been on a sublime run of form this current campaign, striking an impressive 17 goals in all competitions, and his new four-year deal in Amsterdam comes at a reported bargain fee of €2.8m.

It’s a real steal for Ajax, whose new signing just missed out on the Golden Boy award, given to the best young player in Europe, to Liverpool contract rebel Raheem Sterling.

Milik recently featured for his country in a 1-1 Euro 2016 qualifying draw with Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland, having started alongside international strike partner Robert Lewandowski, and his nation are 6/1 with Coral to finish top of Group D ahead of rivals Germany.

The 21-year-old has been a vital component for both club and country this term, slotting home three goals in qualifying to send Poland top of their group, and firing in a further 15 strikes for Ajax to keep them within eight points of league leaders and bitter rivals PSV Eindhoven.

Milik is currently on the mend from a knee injury that was recently sustained during international duty, after a fierce challenge from Ireland winger James McClean, but he has expressed his delight at making a move from the BayArena permanent.

“Of course I still feel my knee injury but this is a wonderful day for me,” he said. “I see this as a reward for my good work during training and matches and my goals. Basically for everything I’ve done here.”

The Dutch capital club brought the Polish poacher in from the Bundesliga, after he had struggled to make an impact at Leverkusen, having been limited to a handful of appearances and being previously loaned out to Augsburg.

“We have the goal to work with a young group in the coming years and build something here at Ajax. My aim is to become champions and score lots of goals,” he continued.