AC Milan lends Zlatan Ibrahimovic's son, Maximillian, to Ajax

Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Ajax signed Maximillian Ibrahimovic, the eldest son of soccer icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic, on loan from AC Milan, the Dutch Eredivisie club announced.

The loan for the 19-year-old forward is for six months and includes an option to buy. Ibrahimovic spent the last six months with Milan Futuro, a second-tier team in Italian Serie D. He moved from Hammarby IF's youth academy to AC Milan's youth academy in 2022.

''I am my own person and player, and I want to write my own story," Ibrahimovic told the Ajax website. "I feel good. I'm excited.''

Ajax director of football Marijn Beuker said Maximillian will initially play for Ajax Under-23 but "regularly move between" that squad and the first team. He also called the teen striker "a player with a lot of potential" and said he hopes for him to become a "permanent part of Ajax 1's attack."

Maximillian's younger brother, Vincent, signed his first professional contract with AC Milan in December. The Italian Serie A franchise announced at the time that the 17-year-old would also be involved with Milan Futuro.

Zlatan, 44, played for AC Milan from 2011 to 2021 and 2020 to 2023. The Swedish soccer star also played with Ajax, in addition to stints with Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-German and Manchester United, among other storied clubs.

"We are very pleased with the arrival of Maximilian," Beuker said. "He is a talented forward with a good sense of positioning in and around the penalty area, and he has strong goal-oriented finishing.

"He is skillful with his dribbling and, above all, has a great winner's mentality and training attitude."

Ajax (9-3-6) sits in third place in the Eredivisie, 16 points behind first-place PSV and three points back of second-place Feyenoord. The Sons of the Gods will take on AZ Alkmaar in the Round of 16 of the Dutch Cup at 3 p.m. EST Wednesday in Alkmaar, Netherlands.

It will host the Go Ahead Eagles in league play Saturday in Amsterdam.