Messi asks Barcelona to sign €150 million superstar, Zidane to sell 2 Real Madrid starters in the summer and more: Transfer Roundup, 13 May 2019

Matthijs De Ligt remains coy about his future amid Manchester United and Barcelona links

Matthijs De Ligt is one of the brightest young prospects in a star-studded Ajax team and has been turning heads in Europe with consistent showings of maturity and sure-headedness. He has for long been tipped for a move to Barcelona in the summer. However, the Dutchman has said that he has not reached an agreement with any club despite several reports claiming that he has.

De Ligt, however, admitted that talks have been held about his future. He said,

"I don't know yet. There have been conversations, but there is still no agreement,"

With Ajax's Sporting Director Edwin Van der Sar conceding that the 19-year-old is likely to depart in the summer, Manchester United are said to be keen on signing the centre-back to solve their defensive problems. However, a move to Barcelona looks like the most likely outcome.

Edwin Van der Sar had earlier admitted,

"I think these will be de Ligt's final games with Ajax, but I hope he goes out on a high,"

He also said that there's a chance that De Ligt might end up in England.

"He's been here since he was a child and will end up at a big club. I think he'll go to England or Spain."

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 Sripad