One of the teams of this entire 2018-19 football season has been Ajax, who have had a dream run in the Champions League, upsetting Real Madrid and Juventus to make it to the final four of the Champions League.
A player who has played a big part in their season has been 19-year-old central defender Matthijs de Ligt, who has also captained the side this season.
de Ligt has been linked with some of the best teams in Europe, with many touting the youngster to have a stellar career and become a world-class central defender. One team that has now been linked with de Ligt is Premier League high-flyers, Liverpool, as per Mirror Football.
Do Liverpool need de Ligt?
De Ligt has shown that he can get into most top clubs in Europe after his brilliant performances for Ajax, especially in the Champions League. The signing of de Ligt’s Dutch national team-mate Virgil van Dijk has transformed Liverpool from a top 4 side to a potential title-winning one, with the tall Dutchman bringing calmness and leadership to the Liverpool backline.
While van Dijk has been immense this season, he hasn’t had a steady partner beside him at the heart of Liverpool’s defence. Manager Jurgen Klopp has used Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren to play alongside van Dijk, but a player of de Ligt’s calibre would certainly make the Liverpool side an even more formidable one.
A ball-playing centre-back, de Ligt has completed an incredible 88.8% of his passes this season for Ajax, which bodes well for a team like Liverpool who like to keep possession of the ball and build from the back. Despite being only 19, de Ligt can outmuscle experienced attackers while also having the ability to read the game well which means that he will fit in the rigours of Premier League football with ease.
De Ligt was rumoured to join his Ajax team-mate Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona in the summer, but recent comments from Barcelona vice-president Jordi Mestre seems to have ended that speculation.
The likes of Manchester United, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are also interested in the teenager’s signature, with his price tag set to be around €60-70 million.
The Dutch club’s European season started back in July, as they had to go through the qualifying stages before entering the group stage of Europe’s elite competition. And after impressive wins against Real Madrid and Juventus, entered the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they won the first leg of their tie against Tottenham 1-0.
Ajax are also top of the Dutch league, level on points with PSV Eindhoven with two games to go.
