Reputed Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague believes (The Express) that Ajax’s star defender Matthijs de Ligt is headed to Barcelona in the summer. However, he claims that the 19-year-old will have the final say on which club he would join in the next few months. The likes of Liverpool, Bayern Munich and PSG are also said to be interested, but Barcelona are confident that they can pull off this coup.
What did Balague say?
In a Youtube series Ask Guillem, the journalist said, ”De Ligt, of course, is possibly going to Barcelona. There’s been meetings between Barcelona and [De Ligt’s agent] Mino Raiola in recent weeks and also Barcelona and Ajax. They’re willing to pay about €70m (£61m), Ajax are happy with that. It’s now down to the player where he wants to go to. Bayern Munich, PSG and Liverpool wanted him. But I feel that he’s close – or that’s what Barcelona feels, that they’re close to getting him.”
De Ligt brought excitement among Liverpool fans when he praised his national team-mate, Virgil Van Dijk and the Reds have continuously been linked with him in the past few weeks. However, the latest update would give the Catalan fans confidence that they might be able to land the star defender in the summer.
The reigning La Liga champions have already secured the signature of De Ligt’s team-mate Frenkie De Jong and signing the defender would be a massive coup for the club. The Dutch international played a massive role for Ajax this season as they won the Eredivisie title and KNVB Cup.
They were seconds away from going into the Champions League final as well. But all around the world, they were praised for the brand of football they played and how they ousted heavyweight clubs like Juventus and Real Madrid to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Why Barcelona need him?
De Ligt has been an integral part of his side, and he is the next big thing of football. At just 19, he has been captaining his side, and the way he plays gives us the impression that he is already at the peak of his power. For €70m he could be a massive steal for any of the clubs signing him as he is only going to get better from here onwards and he has a lot of football left in him.
Barcelona have dominated the domestic football scene once again, but they need to rebuild their ageing squad. Clement Lenglet has crumbled in the big games, and Gerard Pique isn’t getting any younger. De Ligt is a commanding centre half who can do everything that a team would need from their defender and Barcelona should go all out to sign him.
