Tottenham have been linked with Matthijs de Ligt this year.
Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen has told De Telegraaf that he thinks reported Spurs target Matthijs de Ligt is ‘unbelievable’.
Vertonghen has been a star for Spurs since his 2012 move from Ajax, with the 31-year-old racking up more than 250 appearances for the club.
The Belgian has even been able to reunite with his former Ajax teammate Toby Alderweireld in a superb partnership, and Tottenham’s links to Ajax centre backs don’t end there.
Spurs raided the Amsterdam giants to sign Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez in 2017, and he looks like being a key player for the club for many years to come.
Another one could be on the way in 2019, with The Sun reporting that Spurs want to bring in Ajax wonderkid Matthijs de Ligt as a successor to Alderweireld in the heart of the defence, reuniting with Sanchez.
De Ligt, 19, already has more than 70 appearances for Ajax, 11 caps for the Netherlands, a runners-up medal from the 2017 Europa League final and the Ajax vice-captaincy.
De Ligt looks like being a star of the future, and Spurs would be landing a major coup if they can land him, with Vertonghen admitting that he thinks the teenager is ‘unbelievable’.
Vertonghen noted that he was playing for RKC Waalwijk at De Ligt’s age, whereas he has been captaining Ajax in Joel Veltman’s absence, and believes a big move is coming in 2019, with few ‘intermediate’ moves from Ajax at this point.
“”I often ask myself: where was I at his age when he played the Europa League final? Or at the age of nineteen like now. He is captain of Ajax and I was with RKC,” said Vertonghen. “He’s unbelievable. Hopefully he can extend this run, but what he is now showing is very impressive.”
“Ajax is so good at the moment that there are few intermediate steps. It is important for Matthijs to have a good season now and then hopefully take a nice step. After two-and-a-half seasons he is ready for the big work. Although I can also imagine that he wants to stay with Ajax,” he added.
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