It’s not every day you find yourself compared to a £67 million, generation-defining talent. But it’s typical of Perr Schuurs to take such gushing praise in his rangy stride.
A man who graduated with top honours from the Ajax finishing school is about as calm, composed and classy as you’d expect from a centre-half who learned his trade in the home of Total Voetbal.
In typical Ajax style, the Dutch giants turned to their iconic academy after selling inspirational skipper Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus in a £67 million deal in summer 2019.
Rather than reinvesting that colossal fee in a proven, top-quality central defender, the Amsterdam giants put their faith in another gangly, blond-haired teenager.
And Ajax could soon be rewarded with another huge sum for a player who, like De Ligt during that glorious run to the Champions League semi-final in 2018/19, is starting to catch the eye on the biggest stage of all.
According to the Mirror, Liverpool are once again casting their eyes over a man who had a trial at Anfield just three years ago.
Schuurs’ maturity and confidence in possession stood out a mile as Jurgen Klopp’s side laboured to a 1-0 win over Ajax two weeks ago and that performance alone could pave the way for a future move to Merseyside.
And there is one former Liverpool hero who would back that move to the hilt.
“(Schuurs) will be the new Matthijs de Ligt,” Owen told BT Sport (21 October, 10.30pm). “He is still young, but what a body and what strength. He already reminds me a lot of De Ligt.
“Nice on the ball, aggressive and strong for his age. (Ajax) sold De Ligt for a lot of money but he can take over that role completely.”
You’d perhaps be forgiven for letting such comments go to your head. But Schuurs isn’t a man who lets emotion let the better of him, on or off the pitch.
“He thought I was a good player and compared me to Matthijs. They are nice words, but it is of no use to me,” Schuurs told Ajax TV in his typically assured style.
Of course a man who won’t turn 21 until later this month has work to do. It was his mistake that led to Liverpool’s winner in Amsterdam, showing his naïve side with an ill-timed challenge Sadio Mane skipped past before forcing an own goal from Nicolas Tagliafico.
But perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to Schuurs is a match-changing error didn’t knock his confidence one bit.
Jurgen Klopp wants ‘mentality monsters’ at Liverpool. And, in Schuurs, he might have found another beast to add to his collection.
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