Barcelona Transfer News: “De Ligt should join Barcelona,” claims former Barcelona and Dutch manager

What is the story?

Former Barcelona manager, Louis van Gaal believes that the Catalan giants are the best option available for the Golden Ball winner Ajax centre-back Matthijs de Ligt.

In case you didn’t know…

Louis van Gaal managed the Catalan Giants from 1997-2000 before returning to the club for another spell for 2002-03. During his tenure at Barcelona Louis van Gaal won two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and also one UEFA Super Cup.

However, the 19-year-old defender has been linked to the various heavyweights of Europe, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich. But the recent reports suggested that the hugely talented defender is Barcelona bound and will follow the path of his fellow Dutchman and Ajax colleague Frenkie de Jong.

The Ajax captain is having the best season of his career. The 188 cm tall defender has a successful tackle average of nearly 2 per every 90 minutes. He has a been rock solid in the back for both Ajax and Netherlands this season.

The heart of the matter…

In an interview with Marca, the veteran manager expressed his thoughts about the possible destination of De Ligt.

"I think he can play in any league," Van Gaal said about the defender.

"In Italy, they're masters of defending, so it's where he could learn and grow. But if I was in his position, I would go to Barcelona. They have defenders who aren't very strong, and he could play there.”

"If I was in his position, I'd go to Barcelona"Matthijs De Ligt is a hot prospect 🔥He's being touted for a big move 😍One former @FCBarcelona boss thinks the Camp Nou is the right place for him👇https://t.co/Bqcs277llO pic.twitter.com/l0z17ruK0K

— MARCA in English (@MARCAinENGLISH) April 12, 2019

He has also mentioned Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as an alternate destination.

"Alternatively, I like Manchester City."

What’s Next?

It still remains to be seen whether De Ligt will choose to wear the famous Blaugrana shirt from next season or not but for the time being he has a difficult job of keeping Ronaldo quite when they will lock horn once again in the return leg of UEFA Champions League quarter-final in Turin on 16th of April.