According to several reports, Ajax have offered a package worth at least €10 million for the 22-year-old Sano. De Telegraaf reports €10 million in fees and the inclusion of centre-back Ahmetcan Kaplan, who currently plays on loan at NEC and is valued at €5 million.
The fee would come close to being a record deal for the Eredivisie. Only Miralem Sulejmani's move from Heerenveen to Ajax in 2008 (€16.25M) and Ruben van Bommel's switch from AZ to PSV in 2025 (€15.8M) were more valuable in-competition transfers.
The 22-year-old Kodai Sano has attracted interest from several clubs, including Crystal Palace and Werder Bremen, but has allegedly set his eyes on Ajax. A deal is not expected to be easy to reach, with Ajax wary of the more financially powerful competition.
The Japanese midfielder met with Marijn Beuker, Ajax's director of football, in Amsterdam on Saturday, along with Sano's agent Nathan van Kooperen.
If it comes to a deal between NEC and Ajax before February 4th, Sano will become Ajax's sixth winter acquisition after Takehiro Tomiyasu, Maximilian Ibrahimovic, Paulo da Silva, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Maarten Paes.
Kodai Sano arrived at NEC in 2023 from Japanese club Fagiano Okayama and quickly became a central piece in the starting lineup. The one-time Japanese international has played 81 games for the Nijmegen outfit so far, in which he scored 12 goals and assisted a further eight.