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Matthijs de Ligt left out of Ajax's preseason squad as Juventus move nears completion

De Ligt's Ajax days are coming to a close

Ajax have released a statement confirming Matthijs de Ligt's absence from their squad for their pre-season tour. The former Ajax captain has been left out owing to the possibility of a transfer happening before the summer is over.

Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were heavily linked with the 19-year-old. However, recent reports suggest that de Ligt is very close to joining Juventus after agreeing personal terms with the Serie A champions.

The statement read:

"Ajax left Saturday afternoon with 28 players to the training camp in Bramberg, Austria. Awaiting a possible transfer, Matthijs De Ligt does not travel with the group."

Matthijs de Ligt was the shining light of the young and vibrant Ajax squad that left heads turning in Europe with their sensational displays in this past season's UEFA Champions League where they narrowly missed out on the final after having slain several big clubs that came in their way.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram