Barcelona-linked de Ligt admits Juventus switch ‘could happen’
Ajax starlet Matthijs de Ligt has today opened the door to a move to Serie A champions Juventus.
Ajax prodigy
de Ligt, a 19-year-old central defender, is widely-regarded as one of, if not the finest young talent on the planet.
Despite his tender years, the gifted stopper has already established himself as a regular at both club level with Ajax, and on the international stage with the Netherlands.
de Ligt’s combination of physique, athleticism, aggression, reading of the game and ability with the ball come together to form the package of a complete, modern centre-half.
In fact, so impressive has the Dutchman been during the early years of his fledgling career, that he was last year named both Ajax’s youngest ever captain, and the first ever-defender to win the Golden Boy award.
| GOAL! |
There’s a reason Matthijs de Ligt has plenty of suitors around Europe’s big leagues…
He’s just put Ajax 3-1 up with this… ? pic.twitter.com/CEQ8PxCwAx
— Eleven Sports (@ElevenSports_UK) December 2, 2018
de Ligt in-demand
As such, it has come as little surprise to see more-or-less all of European football’s top clubs named as admirers of de Ligt’s talents.
Of the clubs to have been touted as potential destinations for the gifted teen, Barcelona, Manchester City and Juventus have been the most heavily-linked, with the favourites to actually secure a deal for the stopper seemingly changing by the hour.
Blaugrana bound?
The last couple of weeks, though, have seen outlets around Europe name Barcelona as the club best-positioned to land de Ligt.
The Dutchman’s Ajax teammate Frenkie de Jong is set to make the move to the Camp Nou in the summer, with reports in Spain having suggested that de Ligt has his sights set on joining his fellow countryman in Catalunya:
? Matthijs De Ligt has reportedly told agent Mino Raiola his club of choice is @FCBarcelona! pic.twitter.com/FKkTm4TgAV
— Adriano Del Monte (@adriandelmonte) March 21, 2019
‘Could happen’
But, when asked for an update on his future this afternoon, specifically with regards to a possible move to Serie A giants Juventus, de Ligt refused to rule out the possibility of an Italian switch.
Speaking in an interview with Tuttosport, the Ajax starlet revealed:
‘[A move to Juventus] could happen, but there are others who are also interested.’
‘We’ll see at the right time. At the moment I’m fully focused on Ajax and my agent Raiola is taking care of the rest. Also, [Frenkie] de Jong hasn’t spoken to me about a move to Barcelona.’
He continued:
‘I really admire Chiellini, he’s a very strong centre-back and one of the best ever. I also appreciate Bonucci. They are two of the best centre-backs in Europe and two examples to follow for a young player like me.’
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