"It's clear De Ligt will leave Ajax for Barcelona"
The head of sports at daily newspaper De Telegraaf, Valentijn Driessen, discussed the central defender's likely move.
Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt will be leaving Ajax for Barcelona. That's the clear message coming out of the Netherlands, with Valentijn Driessen, head of sports at daily newspaper De Telegraaf using his column to discuss the liekly transfer of the highly rated 19-year-old. The player had refused to be drawn on his future in his most recent interview, but most commentators in the Netherlands believe his mind is already made up.
"It's clear De Ligt will leave Ajax for Barcelona" assures Driessen, despite rumours this week that Juventus were willing to make a serious effort to sign the youngster and De Ligt himself saying he would be open to that move.
No bidding war for De Ligt
"Ajax made it clear to Barcelona that they won't have to pay a huge transfer fee for Matthijs, unlike other clubs" explained Driessen, making it clear that he understands that Ajax are not looking for a bidding war for the player. The relationship between Barcelona and Ajax are historically strong, and have only been reinforced recently with the signing of Frenkie De Jong, who will move to Barça on 1 July 2019.