'After one half of Ajax v PSV, you think: he has to go to PSG or Bayern Munich!'

Posted Tuesday, September 08, 2026 by goal imago-sport-1082426831.jpg Kenneth Perez was impressed by Jorthy Mokio's display against PSV. The 18-year-old Ajax midfielder particularly caught the eye before the break, but had to go off with cramp in the second half, and that is exactly what concerns Perez. Mokio started for Ajax and lasted 73 minutes. "If Mokio had stopped after one half, you would have said: he should be playing for Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich," Perez said on Monday evening on Voetbalpraat on ESPN. After the break, though, the former midfielder also saw what the Ajax talent still lacks. "Then he is the first with cramp, the first one who is spent. And that is of course not enough to be able to cope in those Champions League matches, at the very highest tempo." "Then you last ten minutes and get blown away. That was a shame, because how good was he and how skilful is he." Willem Vissers stressed that Mokio, at 18, still has plenty of time to develop. "That is the step he still has to take. And the question is: can he take that step? That is of course always the question." Still, Perez sees a problem for the Belgian's development. "You cannot take those steps if you are not playing," said the analyst, referring to the competition from new signing Sofyan Amrabat. "And the problem in the Netherlands is: if you are not playing, then you really are not playing anywhere. If you are not playing in the first team, you are not playing in Jong either. Although I think Mokio could even still play in the A1 (now Under-19s, ed.)." Vissers added: "At Ajax they have been moaning for years about wanting a number six. They signed Amrabat because they are saying: Mokio is quite good, but not for the level they are striving for." Even so, Perez believes Mokio can force the issue himself by producing that level consistently. "It is also his own fault, because if he produced this every time, including away at Excelsior, they would never have had to sign a number six."