Former Netherlands international Rene van der Gijp has urged Liverpool to secure the services (The Mirror) of AFC Ajax centre-back Matthijs de Ligt at the end of this campaign. According to a recent interview with Voetbal Primeur, as mentioned by the Mirror, van der Gijp shared his thoughts on the centre-half partnership between Virgil Van Dijk and de Ligt for Ronald Koeman’s Dutch national team and said, “It would be great for Dutch football if those two defenders can play alongside each other for five to six years,”
“Then you are getting the best centre-back pairing in Europe.”
Even though van der Gijp doesn’t mention Liverpool specifically in his recent comments, it seems highly likely that he is discussing the prospect of the Dutch defensive duo linking up at Anfield to play together for the next ‘five to six years’. There is no doubt that it would be one of the most promising centre-back partnerships in Europe if the Reds can somehow lure de Ligt to make a move to Merseyside in the summer.
The 19-year-old is widely regarded as one of the most talented young defenders in Europe. He became the youngest player to captain his side in a UEFA Champions League knockout stage match when Ajax took on Real Madrid at the Johan Cruijff ArenA earlier this week.
The Dutch teenager has been enjoying a rich vein of form for Ajax after putting in a string of commanding displays at the back for Erik ten Hag’s side during this campaign. De Ligt has made a total of 35 appearances for the Eredivisie giants this term and had three goals and two assists to his name across all competitions.
At the tender age of 19, the Ajax defensive ace has also secured 13 international caps for the Netherlands national team and has formed one of the most productive centre-back partnerships at the international level when he laced up to play alongside Van Dijk for his country.
The Eredivisie sensation has made an average of 1.3 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game for Ajax this season which is quite an impressive feat (Stats taken from Whoscored) for a young defender. Hence Liverpool should do everything in their power to secure the signature of de Ligt as he has the ability and the potential to play for the Merseyside club for the next decade.
