Ajax supporters have a new-found respect for Chelsea due to their focus on their academy graduates since Frank Lampard’s appointment, talkSPORT has been told.
That is despite the Blues coming away from Amsterdam with a surprise victory.
Lampard claimed the biggest win of his Blues reign so far as Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to stun the Dutch giants in their Champions League clash on Wednesday night.
It was a disappointing result for last season’s semi-finalists, who had won both of their opening two games in Europe, but it appears their fans were left with a lasting impression of the young Blues.
Ajax are famed for their bountiful academy.
Their young side defied all expectation by getting to the Champions League semi-final last season and even in the past year they have seen star graduates picked up by elite clubs, with Juventus signing Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong joining Barcelona, both for €75million.
Their focus on homegrown players is part of the fabric of the Dutch club, and Van der Kraan says Ajax fans now have a huge amount of respect for Chelsea and Lampard for giving their own youth a chance.
Speaking on Thursday’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the Dutch reporter said: “Everybody was convinced there was a 70 per cent chance that, at home in Amsterdam, Chelsea could be beaten.
“But at half-time every fan I spoke to realised it was a really difficult opponent for them.
“In the past, they had all the big names Roman Abramovich used to buy for Chelsea.
“But now, the style Chelsea have with their own youngsters, their own academy boys, was something different.
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“I think the respect after the game was maybe three-times as much, because Chelsea are doing it now with their own style.
“All credit to Lampard and the club for doing it this way, because this is something that was always the blueprint for Ajax and now suddenly Chelsea have this magic of their own young stars.”