After a meteoric rise, Hato is taking the next step in his career. The left-footed defender is leaving for Chelsea. It's hard to believe that Hato is still only a teenager. Just three Ajax players recorded more minutes before their twentieth birthday than the Rotterdam native.
Vanenburg, Kieft, De Ligt
Hato played 75 times for Ajax in the Eredivisie, starting in 69 of those matches. His total number of league minutes stands at 6,161. Gerald Vanenburg tops the list with 7,919 minutes, followed by Wim Kieft (6,609) and Matthijs de Ligt (6,447).
Considering Hato's birthday is on 7 March, it’s fair to say that with one more season in Amsterdam, he likely would have reached the top of that list. But it won’t come to that – due to his move to the Premier League.
Second behind Bellingham
Hato is regarded as one of the brightest talents in Europe, something his statistics clearly support. Since the start of last season, Hato recorded 8,347 minutes across all competitions for Ajax. Of all players born from 2003 onwards, only Jude Bellingham managed more. Hato finds himself in good company, with FC Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal following in third place.
For Hato, 6 March of this calendar year was a special date. That day – just before his nineteenth birthday – he joined the Club of 100 thanks to his performance against Eintracht Frankfurt. As a result, the defender became the youngest Ajax player ever to enter the illustrious group.
Moreover, Hato continued his pursuit of records. The young defender joined the ranks of Ajax's youngest debutants—behind Naci Ünüvar, Clarence Seedorf and Ryan Gravenberch—when he made his professional debut against FC Den Bosch in the KNVB Cup in 2023.
First cap for the Netherlands
In the same calendar year, he also made his debut for the Dutch national team, becoming the second-youngest post-war debutant for Oranje, behind only De Ligt.
In total, Hato made 111 official appearances for Ajax, starting in more than one hundred of them (102). The majority of his matches came in the Eredivisie: 75 in total.
Almost without exception, Hato had a certain Ajax teammate alongside him in first-team matches. Kenneth Taylor featured in 107 of the 111 games. In many cases, Brian Brobbey was also present: 95 times.
Naturally, Hato celebrated the most victories with Taylor and Brobbey. The latter walked off the pitch with a win 50 times when Hato was also on the field. For Taylor, that number was as high as 59.
Of great value as a provider
Last season, Hato played regularly as a left-back under Francesco Farioli, which allowed him to further develop his attacking qualities. He did so successfully. Hato provided six assists, the joint-highest number for an Ajax defender in a single Eredivisie season this century, alongside Maxwell (in 2003/2004) and Mitchell Dijks (in 2014/2015).
During his time in Ajax's first team, Hato was involved in a total of thirteen goals. He scored four and assisted nine. Davy Klaassen benefited most frequently, twice. The other seven assists were spread across seven different Ajax teammates.
Hato also stood out high up the pitch with his accurate passing. Of the 4152 passes he attempted over the past two seasons, 3807 reached their target. That’s an average of 92 percent. Only teammate Josip Šutalo had a higher pass completion rate in the Eredivisie: 93 percent.
Successful tackles
Hato was also of great value defensively, particularly due to his tenacity and strength in duels. He won back possession an average of nearly five times per match. In addition, more than sixty percent of his tackles were successful.
