“Gastón Ávila can offer versatility in different roles and formations for his team, being a very intelligent player in the defensive third thanks to his passing in build-ups and high aggressivity to defend.
Ajax was looking at Hiroki Ito from VFB Stuttgart but had to eventually give up on his arrival. They turned their attention to Avila and the Argentinian has now been captured.
The versatile 21-year-old can play as a left-back or in the centre of defence and offers more cover for Maurice Steijn. Avila has signed a five-year deal after Ajax met Royal Antwerp’s asking price.
Last summer, Avila joined Royal Antwerp from Boca Juniors and he made 29 appearances for the Belgian side, scoring twice.
Ajax, Royal Antwerp FC and Gaston Avila have reached an agreement on the transfer of the defender to Ajax. The 21-year-old Argentine signed a contract that runs until June 30, 2028. Avila’s contract at the Belgian club ran until 2027. Ajax will pay a € 12.5 million transfer fee to Royal Antwerp FC. This amount can increase to a maximum of € 14.5 million through variables.
Avila was born on September 30, 2001, in Rosario, Argentina and started his career at Rosario Central and Boca Juniors before leaving for Royal Antwerp FC in the summer of 2022. With that club, the left-footed player won the Cup and league title last season.
The defender will play wearing number 30. Get the home jersey with the new signing on the back now.
On September 30, 2001, almost 22 years ago, Avila was born in Rosario, Argentina. A city almost two hundred kilometres northwest of the capital Buenos Aires. Two cities that, before Avila leaves for Europe, play a prominent role in the start of his career as a professional football player.
The career of the young Avila starts at his place of birth, at the clubs Morning Star and later at Club Atlético Tiro Federal. Both clubs are located in Rosario, and Avila moves from the latter to Rosario Central, a club at the highest level in Argentina.
Via the second team, Avila earned a transfer to the capital in 2019. Boca Juniors is interested and signed the defender after paying a two million euros transfer fee. The Argentine only makes a few minutes for Boca Juniors, so he joins his former club on loan in 2021. Avila plays a great season and becomes a key figure in the last line of defence.
Avila plays 35 official matches at the club, scoring three goals. Despite his average height, he scores all these goals with his head. He played seventeen matches in the Superliga and ten in the Copa de la Liga. In those, he won 73% of his defensive and 63% of his attacking duels. Besides that, he played eight matches in the Copa Sudamericana.
After his strong season, he returns to Boca Juniors at the start of 2022, but that period is short-lived. A European club reports to the Argentinians, and the two reach an agreement in the summer of 2022. Avila leaves Boca Juniors after 12 official matches to join the Belgian Royal Antwerp.
In his debut season, he plays 26 official matches for the Belgians, where he plays together with former Ajax player Toby Alderweireld. The latter ensures Royal Antwerp wins the league on the last day of the competition thanks to a 2-2 draw against KRC Genk. This means Avila won the double in his first season since Royal Antwerp also won the Belgian Cup after a 0-2 victory against KV Mechelen.
If we dive deeper into his first season in Belgium, we can see that Avila mostly played as a left wing-back, while he spent most of his matches in Argentina as a left centre-back. In 26 games, he gave one assist: during the 0-1 victory in the competition duel against KRC Genk. He plays sixteen matches in the Jupiler Pro League and six in the playoffs for the championship. His passing accuracy is 80%, and he wins 69% of his defensive duels. He also plays four matches in the Croky Cup in the 2022/2023 season.