Ajax’s highly-rated captain Matthijs de Ligt has been told by his national team manager Ronald Koeman to make a decision on his future amid interest from Barcelona, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Koeman revealed in a press conference ahead of the Netherlands’ tie with England, as reported by the Mirror, that he has had a chat with the young defender.
I spoke to Matthijs one week ago about his future and that’s secret.
The Dutch manager also added that the most important thing for a young player is “to keep playing”.
What I told all the young players who may be thinking about making a step, is that the most important thing is to keep playing.
Keep getting minutes to develop your football, that’s the most important thing and the way the club is playing is also a really important reason to make your choice.
He and his family, his agents and the people around him will make the best decision for him.
The 19-year-old Dutchman was nothing short of sensational for Ajax during the 2018/19 season.
He guided his side to the Dutch title as well as a Champions league semi-final finish after they impressively dispatched Italian champions Juventus in their own back yard as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid before that.
The young defender has also shown that he has an eye for goal too, notching an impressive six goals in 48 appearances for the Dutch Champions last season.
De Ligt plays alongside Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk for the Dutch team so their interest comes as no surprise. If the Reds were able to get their hands on this talent they would arguably have the best centre-back pairing in Europe, something that should concern a lot of teams.
