Henrique has an illustrious predecessor in Maxwell, who played in exactly the same position. The former Ajax player was one of nine Brazilians to represent Ajax's first team over the years. The list ranges from David Neres and Antony to Lucas Rosa and Wamberto. But who exactly is Ajax's tenth Brazilian?
Henrique was born 28 years ago in São Paulo, Brazil. As a teenager, the full-back joined the youth academy of Santos FC, the former club of, among others, former Ajax player Antony. Before making his professional debut in Brazil, Caio Henrique was signed by Atlético Madrid, where he initially joined the youth academy. Breaking through in Spain proved difficult. After several loan spells at Brazilian clubs, he joined AS Monaco in 2020. It was in the south of France that he developed into one of Ligue 1's most consistent assist providers.
Since joining AS Monaco at the start of the 2020/2021 season, Henrique has recorded 34 assists in 158 league appearances. That puts him among the top five players with the most assists in the French league during that period. Only Jonathan Clauss, Kylian Mbappé and Moses Simon recorded more.
The new Ajax signing has not only provided plenty of assists. He has also posted strong attacking numbers in recent seasons. Over the past six seasons in the French league, the defender created 190 chances, 66 of which came from set pieces.
The opposition's penalty erea
Henrique also regularly got on the ball inside the opposition's penalty area. Over those six seasons, he recorded 206 touches in the opponent's box. Among defenders in the French league during that period, only five had more.
Based on these statistics, the comparison with fellow Brazilian Maxwell, who made his mark at Ajax at the start of the century, is not such a strange one. Whether Henrique will follow in his footsteps remains to be seen in the coming period. One thing is clear, though: Ajax have added an attack-minded full-back to the squad.
