Barcelona have reportedly been handed a major transfer boost as Ajax youngster Matthijs de Ligt is ready to prioritise a move to the Nou Camp this summer.
The 19-year-old has wasted little time in establishing himself as a fundamental figure at Ajax, making 98 appearances for the senior side already while earning 13 caps for the Netherlands too.
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That would suggest that he has a bright future for club and country ahead of him, but time will tell how long he opts to stay in his homeland for to continue his progress and development.
As noted by BBC Sport, Barcelona are already set to splash out a whopping €75m+ on his current teammate Frenkie de Jong this summer, but reports in Spain now claim that De Ligt could be ready to follow him to the Nou Camp.
According to Mundo Deportivo, De Ligt is ready to put aside reported interest from the likes of PSG, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Atletico Madrid to wait for Barcelona to make their move, thus putting the reigning La Liga champions in a very strong position to land his signature this summer if they choose to pursue him.
Barca seemingly addressed their long-term issue in defence with the signing of Jean-Clair Todibo in January, while Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet are all options for coach Ernesto Valverde moving forward.
Nevertheless, Pique turned 32 last month, and so perhaps a long-term replacement for him in the heart of the Barcelona defence is still needed, particularly with Umtiti’s injury nightmare this season in mind.
De Ligt has the technical quality to fit in perfectly at the club in terms of his class in possession to build out from the back, while his defensive abilities have been on show too. Having dumped Real Madrid out of the Champions League last week, he would surely have been on the radar of Barcelona scouts as well as De Jong with the above update in mind.
