Ajax have confirmed the signing of SC Heerenveen’s American-born Dutch defender Kik Pierie, who will join the club on July 1.
Pierie was born in Boston, Massachusetts while his father - former Dutch field hockey player Jean-Pierre Pieirie - was a professor at Harvard Medical School.
The centre-back is just 18 but he has already made 67 appearances for Heerenveen's first-team and rumours of a move to a bigger club emerged quickly.
The deal will see the teenage starlet remain at the club until June 2024, but will raise immediate question marks about the future of current centre-back star Matthijs de Ligt.
As is confirmed by ESPN and Sky Sport Italia, De Ligt is set for a move to Barcelona alongside his team-mate De Jong.