Ahmetcan Kaplan Joins NEC from Ajax for €2.5 Million
Ahmetcan Kaplan is set to swap Ajax for NEC on a permanent basis, with the clubs reaching an agreement over a deal worth around €2.5 million, according to Algemeen Dagblad club watcher Johan Inan.
The move keeps the 21-year-old centre-back in Nijmegen, where he already spent last season on loan and quietly became one of the revelations of NEC’s campaign.
From Expensive Bet to Cut-Price Exit
Ajax brought Kaplan in from Trabzonspor in the summer of 2022, paying a hefty €9.5 million for the left-footed defender. He arrived in Amsterdam as a long-term project, a modern ball-playing defender for the future.
That future never truly materialised at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
Across four years under contract, Kaplan’s Ajax tally will stop at just 25 official appearances. Competition, injuries and constant turbulence at the club blocked his path, and the breakthrough that was expected simply did not come.
NEC offered a way out. And Kaplan grabbed it.
NEC Get Their Man
In Nijmegen, Kaplan did what he had struggled to do in Amsterdam: he played. A lot.
He featured in 30 official matches for NEC last season and made a strong impression at the heart of their defence. Solid in duels, comfortable on the ball, and with an eye for goal – he scored twice – he quickly became a key figure in Rogier Meijer’s back line.
No surprise, then, that NEC pushed to keep him.
Kaplan is now set to sign a four-year contract, tying him to the club until mid-2030. For NEC, that length says everything: this is not a stopgap. This is a cornerstone.
He will also share the dressing room with compatriot Emre Mor, adding a familiar face in a season that could be the biggest in NEC’s history.
Reinforcement at a Crucial Moment
The timing of the deal matters.
NEC badly needed defensive reinforcements with Philippe Sandler sidelined for a long spell. Kaplan’s permanent arrival plugs that gap with a player who already knows the system, the club and the expectations.
No adaptation period. No guessing. They know exactly what they are getting.
And the stakes could hardly be higher. NEC still have their eyes on the group stage of the Champions League, with a two-legged tie against FK Bodø/Glimt standing between them and a place among Europe’s elite.
A settled, confident back line is non-negotiable at that level. Kaplan now walks into that responsibility.
Ajax move on from an expensive investment that never truly paid off. NEC, for a fraction of the original fee, secure a defender entering his prime.
If NEC do make it past Bodø/Glimt, this transfer will not just look smart. It will look decisive.
