Premier League powerhouses Arsenal and Liverpool reportedly want to sign Ajax’s Eredivisie captain Matthijs de Ligt.
The records have tumbled throughout Matthijs de Ligt’s short career.
He is the youngest captain in Ajax’s history, the youngest player ever to start a European Cup final and the first defender ever to win the prestigious Golden Boy award.
At the age of 19, De Ligt already looks like the next best centre-back in European football. So no wonder Liverpool and Arsenal are among his many admirers with the teenager expected to graduate from the Amsterdam finishing school this summer, according to The Sun.
The report adds that De Ligt is valued at £70 million – an eye-watering fee that would make him the second most expensive defender in football history. But would he be worth every penny?
With Dutch great Rinus Israel claiming that he is already better than Virgil van Dijk, the Liverpool number four already considered by many to be the planet’s premiere centre-back, De Ligt looks like a fine investment.
“I think he is of the level Virgil van Dijk. Although I think he is better already,” the 76-year-old, a two-time Dutch player of the Year and a 1970 European Cup winner with Feyenoord, told De Telegraaf.
“He is young, a real defender, good at his passing and a great talent.”
De Ligt has also shown extraordinary personality and character at the age of just 19. He endured a nightmare on his international debut in March 2017, at fault for both goals in a 2-0 defeat against Bulgaria that cost manager Danny Blind his job.
De Ligt was then sent off in his second cap against Morocco. Since then, however, he has bounced back, formed a peerless partnership with Van Dijk and guided Holland into the Nations League final four.
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