Reported Liverpool target Perr Schuurs has been likened to Matthijs de Ligt but is ‘not ready yet’ to lead Ajax in the Champions League, Dutch legend Rafael Van der Vaart told NOS Studio Voetbal.
The comparisons with De Ligt were inevitable.
Like the £67 million Juventus stopper, Schuurs learned his trade at the esteemed Ajax finishing school, taught, as he was, in the ways of Johan Cruyff.
A classy, ball-playing central defender who loves nothing more than driving into midfield with one of those trademark marauding runs, Schuurs not only plays like De Ligt, he even looks a bit like him with that mop of blonde hair and that rangy, 6ft-plus frame.
But, while Schuurs will turn 21 later this month, he is a little behind schedule if we must insist on comparing him with a modern-day Ajax legend.
While De Ligt captained the Dutch giants to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, Schuurs has endured a far more difficult time on the international stage.
A few weeks before being linked with a move to Anfield via the Mirror, it was his naïve challenge on Sadio Mane that led to Liverpool’s winner in Amsterdam during a tense Champions League group-stage clash.
Schuurs struggled at times during Atalanta and Midtjylland too, with Van der Vaart questioning whether we are expecting far too much, far too soon.
“Internationally (mistakes ) are punished, but in the Netherlands you can get away with it,” Van der Vaart said after Schuurs was given the runaround by Eljero Elia in an Eredivisie clash with Utrecht.
“He has developed well, but he also has to (read the danger) very quickly in the Champions League. He’s just not ready for that yet.”
Then again, a move to Liverpool would see Schuurs link up with perhaps the finest manager on the planet when it comes to helping young talents realise their potential.
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