According to Mundo Deportivo, Ajax skipper Mathijs De Ligt is looking to follow into the footsteps of his compatriot and teammate Frenkie De Jong as he is ready to arrive at Barcelona in the next summer transfer window.
The Dutch defender has been in brilliant form this season and led the amazing fightback for his side in the Champions League round of 16 match against Real Madrid, as Ajax knocked the defending champions out with a shocking 4-1 result, with a 5-3 aggregate victory over the two legs to advance to the quarter-final.
The Blaugrana are currently on the top of the La Liga table and have looked good so far this season while going forward. The likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele have been leading the line for them with absolute precision. However, the same can’t be said about their defence which has faltered to keep up with the opposition strikers and has looked leaky on many occasions.
While Gerard Pique has done his bit to guard the backline well, the likes of Clement Lenglet and Jeison Murillo have been far from impressive. The absence of Samuel Umtiti has been a significant blow to their backline, and the Blaugrana needed to bring in someone as good as De Ligt to give their backline some much-needed stability.
De Ligt has been linked with the Catalan giants for quite some time, but the move has never materialised. However, now that Ernesto Valverde needs a top quality defender to guard his defence, De Ligt could be considered as the perfect option to come into the side.
The 19-year-old has already earned the captain’s armband with his gritty and well-disciplined performances in the backline at Ajax and has received rave reviews from a number of experts from all over Europe. He looks well ahead of his age in terms of the maturity in his decision making and could be an excellent option for the Blaugrana in their defence if they can land him in the next summer transfer window.
Though this season has been a dominant one in the domestic front for the reigning La Liga champions, their European campaign has once again seen some ups and downs. While the forwards have done Valverde proud, the defenders have been far from their best. The addition of De Ligt could be a shrewd decision from the Spanish gaffer as he looks to strengthen the weakest link in his side, i.e., the defence so that it becomes a lot easier for them to push for dominance in every competition in the next season.
