Barcelona close in on €80m starlet to add exciting reinforcement to Valverde’s squad

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Barcelona are reportedly edging closer to securing a deal to sign Ajax starlet Matthijs de Ligt this summer to bolster their defence.

As noted by BBC Sport, the Catalan giants already have a deal in place to sign Frenkie de Jong from the Eredivisie title chasers, a move which is expected to cost them €75m+.

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Despite that huge outlay on the talented midfield ace, ESPN now claim that they will potentially splash out a further €80m on his teammate De Ligt as they look to build an exciting long-term plan.

The ESPN source is quoted as saying that the 19-year-old is set on joining Barcelona and that the reigning La Liga champions will be notified by Ajax if a rival club makes an offer.

De Ligt has quickly emerged as one of the top young players in Europe, making 110 appearances for the senior Ajax side despite still only being a teenager, while he has 15 caps for the Netherlands to his name.

With that in mind, it would appear as though he has a very bright future ahead of him for club and country, and that could involve moving to the Nou Camp this summer as Barcelona continue to build a potentially impressive new core to the squad for the long term.

As well as De Jong, Barca have signed the likes of Jean-Clair Todibo, Arthur, Nelson Semedo, Ousmane Dembele and Malcom in recent transfer windows, with those individuals all still in the early stages of their respective careers.

With De Ligt possibly on the way next, not only do they have two of Europe’s leading starlets from Ajax who have inspired them to the semi-finals of the Champions League this season, but both De Ligt and De Jong are seemingly perfect for Barcelona given their technical quality and tactical know-how with major similarities made between them and the ‘Ajax way’.

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