Juventus have moved into pole position to sign one of Barcelona’s key transfer targets, the ace is regarded as one of the brightest talent in Europe.
According to Sport, Juventus will win the race against Barcelona to sign talented Ajax and Holland centre-back Matthijs de Ligt in the summer.
De Ligt was excited as anyone would be when he learned of Barcelona’s interest but a recent meeting didn’t go as well as the youngster would have hoped.
The Blaugrana cannot guarantee De Ligt a place in the starting lineup, the Ajax starlet would have to compete with Barcelona legend Gerard Pique, World Cup winner Samuel Umtiti and the talented Clement Lenglet for a spot at the heart of Barcelona’s defence.
In addition to the fact that Juventus are believed to have promised more regular football to the 19-year-old, the Italian side are also putting forward a more lucrative deal to Ajax.
Barcelona are focusing their attentions on De Ligt’s Ajax teammate Frenkie de Jong and would therefore be unable to match the €80m that Juventus would be willing to spend on the defender.
De Ligt has been formidable for both club and country, the youngster has made history along the way:
Matthijs de Ligt is the third-youngest player in history to earn 10 senior caps for the Netherlands men's national team.
The youngest in the post-war era. ?? pic.twitter.com/Zk1BZKbpmk
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 13, 2018
Juventus have been heralded for having one of the best backline’s in the world in recent years and with Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci not getting any younger now could be the perfect time for De Ligt to establish himself as one of the world’s best defenders.