Kaplan Joins NEC from Ajax in €2.5m Transfer

Ahmetcan Kaplan’s Ajax chapter is all but closed. According to Algemeen Dagblad club watcher Johan Inan, Ajax and NEC have reached an agreement over a permanent transfer worth around €2.5 million, sending the Turkish defender back to Nijmegen for good.

This isn’t a leap into the unknown. Kaplan already spent last season on loan at NEC and grew into one of their key figures. Across 30 official matches he impressed with his composure on the ball and aggression without it, even chipping in with two goals. The loan spell felt like an audition. He passed it.

NEC have moved quickly to lock him down. Kaplan is set to sign a four-year contract that runs until mid-2030, a clear statement that the club see him as a cornerstone of their defence for years to come. For a side with big European ambitions, that continuity matters.

For Ajax, the deal quietly draws a line under a costly gamble. The Amsterdam club brought Kaplan in from Trabzonspor in the summer of 2022 for €9.5 million, betting on his left foot and potential. Two years later, his tally in an Ajax shirt will stop at 25 official appearances. A promising project that never quite turned into a mainstay.

NEC, by contrast, get exactly what they need. With Philippe Sandler sidelined for a long spell, the back line required a reliable reinforcement rather than another short-term patch. Kaplan knows the coach, knows the system, knows the pressure. There is no adaptation period, only expectation.

He will not be alone, either. In Nijmegen he links up again with compatriot Emre Mor, adding a familiar face in the dressing room as NEC brace for a pivotal season. The club still have their eyes fixed on the Champions League group stage, with a two-legged tie against FK Bodø/Glimt standing between them and the promised land.

A settled, ball-playing centre-back arriving on a permanent deal, just as the biggest games of their recent history loom into view. For NEC, the timing of Kaplan’s return could hardly be sharper.