Matthijs de Ligt has made his decision and has chosen to snub the likes of Barcelona and PSG.
White smoke is coming out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel as Matthijs de Ligt has chosen his new team. An apt analogy as his new team is set to be Italian as Juventus have reportedly beaten some of Europe’s top team to acquire the Dutch defender.
According to Sky Sports, De Ligt has decided to join Juventus and it will cost the Italian giants somewhere in the neighborhood of £62 million. Considering the prices some players are going and given his age and room for growth, it’s a steal by Juventus. But, it could also mean that he will be on high wages and that his agent, Mino Raiola, will receive a significant payment for his services.
BREAKING: Matthijs de Ligt has decided to join Juventus this summer, according to Sky in Italy.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 22, 2019
In any respect, Juventus will be acquiring Europe’s most highly sought after defender. De Ligt himself said he would make his decision after the Nations League and it looks like he was true to his word. After the loss to Portugal in the final, Cristiano Ronaldo went up to him and asked him to sign for Juventus. Perhaps that played a part in his final decision.
PSG had been leading the race to sign him for a while since they were the team offering the most both to the player and his agent. Barcelona were a close second but De Ligt had doubts about joining them because he wanted to play. With the likes of Pique, Lenglet, Umtiti, and Todibo, playing time may have been hard to come by.
At Juventus, he is sure to be a starter as their center-backs, Chiellini and Bonucci, are getting up there in age and Barzagli is set to retire. He also fits the style Juventus are likely to play with the arrival of Maurizio Sarri.
With Sarri at the helm, Juventus will play a possession game and likely will have their defenders push high. Having played a similar style at Ajax, De Ligt should have no problem adjusting.
Neither Ajax or Juventus have made the signing official but looking at all the options, Juventus makes the most sense. At 19, Matthijs de Ligt is a signing both for now and the future.