Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly hopeful that they hold a potentially decisive advantage in the race to sign Barcelona target Matthijs de Ligt.
As noted by Mundo Deportivo on Monday, it had been suggested that the 19-year-old defensive starlet was ready to ignore interest from elsewhere and prioritise a move to the Nou Camp.
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De Ligt has established himself as one of the most talented young players in Europe already, with 98 appearances for the Ajax senior side already to his name coupled with 13 caps for the Netherlands.
Given his defensive quality and technical ability, he would arguably be a perfect fit for Barcelona, but it appears as though the Catalan giants could come under increasing pressure to try and fend off competition to sign him this summer.
As per the latest from Mundo Deportivo, it’s now suggested that PSG could use contract talks with Marco Verratti’s agent, Mino Raiola, to their advantage, with Raiola also representing De Ligt.
It’s noted that they hope to force Raiola to convince De Ligt to move to the French capital this summer instead, although that undoubtedly sounds easier said than done.
Much will surely depend on the player’s preference and if Barcelona can even reach an agreement with Ajax at the end of the season, as the reigning La Liga champions are already set to splash out a whopping €75m+ on his current Ajax teammate Frenkie de Jong, as per BBC Sport.
With that in mind, PSG could still have a chance of signing De Ligt, but influencing Raiola to persuade his young client seems like a long shot.
Time will tell though if it does make a difference, with the report above again insisting that De Ligt wants a move to Barcelona to follow in De Jong’s footsteps.
