Mika Godts was taken out of the starting XI just two minutes before Ajax's Eredivisie season opener against PEC Zwolle on Sunday. 17-year-old Abdellah Ouazane replaced Godts, who started in Ajax's European qualifiers against Vojvodina and Shelbourne.
Speculation arose that Godts had pulled out due to the ongoing negotiations between Ajax and Paris Saint-Germain. The UEFA Champions League winners have been trying to get Godts to Paris for the better part of a week, but Ajax are keeping their foot down and demand €60 million, according to reports.
Speaking to De Telegraaf, Godts' agent Niels De Jonck confirmed that his client's omission from Sunday's starting XI had nothing to do with the potential transfer.
“It has nothing to do with what’s going on with PSG. Mika isn’t like that. He was simply overworked. So this is a precautionary measure and to avoid taking any risks,” said De Jonck.
'I want to play every minute'
Following Ajax's 2-0 win, in which Godts assisted Julian Brandt's goal in added time after coming on in the 60th minute, the Belgian winger spoke to ESPN about his absence and repeated the same message as his agent's.
"I was already feeling a bit of discomfort in training yesterday, after Thursday’s match," Godts said.
"We’d agreed to check it out during the warm-up. I was feeling just a little too much discomfort. So I discussed it with the trainer, and we agreed it would be better to see out the last twenty minutes than to come off after twenty minutes."
Godts, who said he'd agreed on coming on in case Ajax needed him, waved off claims of him sitting out the match with a move to PSG on the cards.
"I hope people know me well enough to realise that I’m a professional. If I really hadn’t wanted to play, I wouldn’t have played in the last two matches either. I love Ajax; I’m happy to play for Ajax. I’ve come through the ranks here in the first team. It was simply a matter of assessing what the wisest course of action was. That was to see the season through and still make a difference."
Speaking on the interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Godts didn't let much go and reiterated his desire to play for Ajax as long as he's in Amsterdam.
"There are rumours going round, and I’m not going to say they’re not true. Otherwise, nobody will take me seriously anymore. But I do want to set the record straight that I’d love to play. Until an agreement is reached, I want to play every minute."
Mika Godts was a rare bright spot at Ajax last season, scoring 17 goals and providing 13 assists in the Eredivisie. His 30 goal contributions led the Dutch league. This season, Godts has scored once and assisted twice in three UEFA Conference League qualifiers.