Matthijs De Ligt transfer news: Liverpool handed huge boost in pursuit of Barcelona’s target De Ligt

Liverpool have made contact with Ajax for the signing of Matthijs De Ligt. 

Matthijs De Ligt has impressed plenty of scouts over the last year with stellar performances for Ajax. The Dutch International lifted two domestic trophies, and carried his side to the Semifinals of the Champions League which should be considered as a monumental foot at the age of 19.

The Ajax centre-back has been strongly linked with a potential move to Barcelona in the summer transfer window. But, the Blaugrana are not easily getting their man as Liverpool have also had talks with the club and agent over the last few days, claims the Spanish football expert, Guillem Balague in a BBC Podcast.

He added on that Barcelona have struck a deal to sign him, Liverpool are proving to be a stumbling block. Jurgen Klopp is believed to be had personal talks with the player’s representatives.

“They (Barcelona) think they have De Ligt, even though both Liverpool and PSG have also been talking to him.” said Guillem Balague.

Liverpool already have Virgil Van Dijk in the backline, and should they add De Ligt to their roster, they could well have one of the best defensive partnerships in the world currently.

It will be easy to convince him to move to Anfield as Barcelona are trying to close him on down and the likes of Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Manchester City remain coy on the defender.

Whilst it is unlikely to see Liverpool spend a hefty sum this summer, the prospect of landing Matthijs De Ligt will be alluring for Jurgen Klopp. An offer around 60-65 million should wrap up the deal.

Former Manchester United legend Jaap Stam has claimed that Liverpool would be a ‘better fit’ than Barcelona for Matthijs De Ligt currently.

“It’s important that he’ll get playing time,” Stam is quoted as saying by DAZN.

“If you look at the squads: Barcelona, after losing to Liverpool (in the Champions League semi-final), probably wants to strengthen their squad, especially in defence, if you ask me. The question is how they are going to solve that problem.

“I think that Matthijs de Ligt would be a good fit though. It will be great to see how he performs against better players in a better league, not just every few weeks, but every weekend.

“The same goes for Liverpool. We all know who is their biggest defensive star – his Dutch colleague (Van Dijk) – the other players, Lovren and Matip, rotate quite a lot.” said Stam.

Here’s how Twitter reacted..

What’s next?

Liverpool will take on Tottenham Hotspur in the finals of the Champions League at Wanda Metropolitano on June 1.