Defensive MidfieldDR Congo18 years oldPlays for Ajax Amsterdam
Photo: Hans Reefman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; resized and cropped.
Jorthy Mokio is a DR Congo international who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ajax Amsterdam. Born on 29 February 2008, he is in his breakthrough season at senior level in the Eredivisie. Under Michel Sanchez he has been used as the deepest midfielder in a midfield three, starting ahead of Sofyan Amrabat against Excelsior and Willem II as Ajax sit 5th after seven games.
Mokio is left-footed and 184 cm tall. Scouting notes describe him as a left-footed central defender with technical elegance, tactical maturity and elite physical potential, capable of playing left centre-back in a back three, left full-back and holding midfielder. He is presented as a complete, elegant and dominant centre-back, strong in individual duels on the ground and in the air, proactive in pressing, anticipating and recovering out wide, with agility and speed to cover large spaces in an advanced defensive line.
Recent use at Ajax has been as a no.6. Sanchez picked him for aggression to match an aggressive opponent, a profile that fits his positive aggressiveness and tenacity. WhoScored lists no significant weaknesses from the latest two seasons of data. Rafael van der Vaart has publicly questioned his pragmatism, saying the youngster appears to think he is better than he is and needs more professionalism beyond youth football.
Mokio joined the Gent youth academy from KFC Merelbeke in 2021. He debuted in the UEFA Youth League on 4 October 2023 against Basel and made his senior debut for Gent in the Belgian Pro League on 29 March 2024, starting in a 5–1 win against Standard Liège, with four first-team appearances that season.
With Jong Ajax he made his Eerste Divisie debut on 12 August 2024 against Jong PSV and his positional development shifted toward midfield, scoring twice in 17 appearances in the first half of the season while regularly featuring as a defensive midfielder. He stepped up from Ajax Amsterdam U21 to Ajax Amsterdam in January 2025.
He is contracted to Ajax until 30 June 2031. Wikipedia notes he turned down offers including reportedly Barcelona before joining Ajax, and he has represented Belgium at youth level before switching to DR Congo.
West Ham are among the main candidates for Jorthy Mokio, per sport1.pl, which describes the Hammers as a leading contender and says Ajax would demand a fee roughly double his €15 million valuation. His contract runs to…