New Chelsea signing Jorrel Hato has all of the qualities to take pleasure in a profitable profession at Stamford Bridge, so says former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag.
Hato accomplished his £38.6m (€44.2m) swap to the Blues earlier this month, and is predicted to play an important function for Enzo Maresca’s facet this season.
That’s because of the information of Levi Colwill’s absence for a lot of the 2025-26 marketing campaign after he sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) damage.
Hato can function at each centre-back and left-back, and he featured 31 instances within the Eredivisie final season, 30 of which got here from the beginning.
The 19-year-old scored twice and laid on six assists, with solely Utrecht’s Souffian El Karouani (eight) offering extra assists amongst defenders within the competitors.
Ten Hag, who’s now the top coach of Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen, left Ajax in 2022 to affix Manchester United, simply lacking Hato’s rise into the first-team.
Hato in the home. pic.twitter.com/XvlCM8STVX
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 3, 2025
Nonetheless, having adopted his profession from afar, Ten Hag believes it is not going to take Hato lengthy to regulate to life within the Premier League.
“You all the time want a little bit of time, however he has a superb mentality, so he can develop in a short time,” Ten Hag stated.
“He has all the weather, all of the qualities in his sport to point out that he can grow to be a really profitable participant.
“I’m satisfied that he will likely be profitable at Chelsea. I congratulate Chelsea. I guess he regrets not having me at Ajax, provided that they haven’t received any titles lately.
“After I left, he arrived, however he’s developed and progressed. He was among the best, maybe the most effective gamers within the Eredivisie. He’s so younger, however already at a really excessive stage.”
Chelsea start their Premier League marketing campaign this Sunday with a visit to Selhurst Park to face Group Defend winners Crystal Palace.