Liverpool have reportedly been given a major opportunity to clinch the transfer of in-demand Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt this summer.
According to Sport, De Ligt had five possible destinations this summer, with Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain now the main contenders as that list has been narrowed down to two.
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Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus had also been in the running, say Sport, but it now looks like the Netherlands international will head to either Paris or Merseyside. ESPN previously suggested a move to Barca was all but in the bag for a deal worth around €80million.
Sport claim De Ligt’s agent Mino Raiola would rather the 19-year-old chose PSG for financial reasons, but one imagines Liverpool would have to have a decent chance.
The Reds have just won the Champions League and look as attractive a destination as anyone at the moment, while De Ligt could form a world class central defensive partnership with his fellow Dutchman Virgil van Dijk at Anfield.
If LFC could pull this off they may perhaps even be Premier League title favourites for next season after already running Manchester City extremely close in 2018/19.
PSG, meanwhile, play in an unbalanced league and haven’t made progress in Europe in recent times, so don’t necessarily look that appealing despite the money that would be on offer.
This is all a big blow for Man Utd, however, as the Red Devils look in urgent need of a new world class centre-back this summer as part of what looks likely to be a major rebuilding project at Old Trafford.
However, Sport suggests their lack of Champions League football next season has cost them in this particular transfer battle.