Youri Baas, born on 17 March 2003 (age 23), is a Dutch central defender with Ajax. He came through the Amsterdam club’s system and has settled into the first-team picture wearing squad number 15, with his value sitting at around £10m according to Transfermarkt.
His development was not just a straight academy-to-Ajax story. A loan spell at NEC Nijmegen gave him the sort of senior football young Ajax players often need before anyone is inclined to take them seriously. It helped move him beyond prospect status and into the more practical business of handling Eredivisie forwards every week.
Back at Ajax, Baas has been used primarily as a central defender rather than simply as a tidy academy graduate filling gaps. His most productive league season came in 2025-26, when he scored four goals in 31 appearances – a useful return for a defender, without needing to pretend he was suddenly a centre-forward.
In 2026-27, he has made seven Eredivisie appearances and scored once. Across all competitions for Ajax that season, he has 13 appearances and two goals, including three Conference League qualifying appearances, two European play-off outings and one in the KNVB Beker.
Baas remains a developing Ajax defender with a growing body of senior football behind him. The shape of his career so far is clear enough: Ajax grounding, a useful loan for experience, then a return to compete properly in their first-team squad.
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