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What's the story?
Matthijs de Ligt's former coach at Ajax U18 thinks Juventus is the right place for the player to grow now. Brian Roy also believes that the player will very soon move on from the Italian Champions to Barcelona or a Premier League club.
In case you didn't know...
The Dutchman is perhaps the hottest prospect in this summer's transfer window. There has hardly been a day over the past few weeks when the young starlet has not been in the news.
Barcelona were favourites to get his signature but apparently, the personal package offered to de Ligt was bettered by Paris Saint Germain and Juventus. There were initial contacts from Bayern Munich and Liverpool too but neither club pursued him seriously.
The heart of the matter
His former coach gave his views on the generational defensive talent:
"For me, Barcelona would be the number one choice, but de Ligt will go into a team that will help him even more to grow. Juventus is a club of prestige and history, has the hunger and ambition typical of those who want to win in Europe. Let's not forget that Edgar Davids wore these colors. If Matthijs raises the Champions League alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, there will be a big bang.
"Asking to be sold after 3 or 4 seasons would not be a problem. When he is in the midst of his competitive career, Matthijs could go and play in the biggest club in the world, Barcelona, or in the best league of all, the English one. Serie A is a really difficult championship, defensively speaking in Italy there are the best performers of this role. In fact, as a defender he preferred the best. In Holland they are not so good tactically, there are no defenders like Chiellini or Bonucci or coaches prepared like this. To refine its qualities even more would be fantastic."
What's next?
Matthijs de Ligt's future will soon be clear over the next few days. It's very well likely that the Dutchman will pair up with Cristiano Ronaldo in Turin with the Portuguese international having spoken to him about a move after the UEFA Nations League finals.
