Simon Adingra is hoping to follow the path carved by fellow West African attacker Mohammed Kudus after completing a season-long loan move to Ajax from Sunderland.
The 24-year-old Ivorian winger has arrived in Amsterdam with an option for Ajax to make the transfer permanent, and he has already identified Kudus as an example of what he wants to achieve in the famous red-and-white shirt. “I hope I can do just as well here as Mohammed Kudus,” Adingra said after completing his move.
The comparison is understandable. Like Kudus, Adingra’s footballing journey has strong Ghanaian connections.
He joined the Right to Dream Academy in Ghana in 2018 before moving to Denmark, where he continued his development at FC Nordsjælland. Kudus followed a remarkably similar route, joining Right to Dream before moving to Nordsjælland and eventually earning a move to Ajax.
Kudus arrived at Ajax from Nordsjælland in July 2020 and made his first-team debut against RKC Waalwijk on September 20 that year. He immediately impressed, earning the Man of the Match award, before an injury against Liverpool in the Champions League disrupted his first campaign.
Despite injuries during his first two seasons, Kudus became an increasingly important figure in Amsterdam. He won the Eredivisie in 2021 and 2022, as well as the KNVB Cup in 2021, and finished his Ajax career with 87 official appearances and 27 goals.
His final full season was particularly memorable. Kudus scored 18 goals and provided seven assists in 42 appearances during the 2022/23 campaign, while also producing six goals and two assists in the Champions League group stage. He later scored a hat-trick against Ludogorets in what proved to be his final Ajax appearance.
Adingra now enters Ajax with a different profile but a similarly impressive development record. The right-footed winger made his senior breakthrough at Nordsjælland before joining Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022.
After a highly productive loan spell at Union Saint-Gilloise, where he registered 15 goals and 14 assists across competitions, he established himself in the Premier League and eventually accumulated 73 appearances for Brighton.
Stats Draw Adingra to Ajax
Adingra’s numbers underline why Ajax believe he can make an immediate impact. During his 2022/23 campaign with Union, he ranked among the Belgian league’s most effective dribblers and finished with nine league assists.
He subsequently scored on his Premier League debut for Brighton and produced memorable performances against Ajax itself in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign.
He then moved to Sunderland in 2025 before spending the latter part of last season on loan at AS Monaco, where he scored three goals and supplied two assists in 14 Ligue 1 appearances. Ajax’s decision to bring him in reflects their desire for pace, penetration and one-on-one ability on the wings.
There is also an international connection between Adingra’s story and Ajax’s history. The Ivorian was instrumental in his country’s Africa Cup of Nations triumph in 2024, providing two assists in the final, including the pass for Sébastien Haller’s winning goal. Haller himself previously enjoyed a prolific spell at Ajax.
For Adingra, however, the Kudus comparison provides perhaps the clearest motivation. Both players emerged from the Right to Dream system, developed at Nordsjælland and subsequently earned opportunities at Ajax.
Kudus left Amsterdam in 2023 after three seasons, joining West Ham United in a deal worth an initial €43 million before signing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2025. His 27 goals in 87 Ajax appearances and three major trophies established him as one of the club’s most successful recent African signings.
Adingra now has the chance to write his own chapter. Rather than simply replicate Kudus, his immediate task will be to translate his pace, dribbling and direct attacking style into Ajax’s possession-based football and turn a temporary opportunity into a permanent place in Amsterdam.
For a player who has already followed part of Kudus’ journey, Ajax represents the next test. And Adingra clearly knows the benchmark he is chasing.
READ ALSO: Discipline Non-Negotiable, Presidency Warns Ministers and Political Appointees
