Champions League
Van de Beek: PSG join chase for Ajax star
According to Canal Plus France, talks between the Netherlands international and the French champions are already well advanced.
Ajax took another step towards one of the more unlikely European achievements of recent seasons – reaching the Champions League final – but whatever happens between now and the end of the season Erik ten Hag’s youthful side is bound to be picked apart this summer by the same sorts of club they have been busy picking apart on the pitch.
Frenkie de Jong has already signed for Barcelona and his current captain, 19-year-old Matthijs de Ligt, will follow him out of the Johan Cruijff Arena when the dust settles on the 2018-19 campaign. De Jong and De Ligt represent Ajax’s crown jewels, but midfielder Donny van de Beek has also caught the eye on the Dutch side’s extraordinary run in Europe.
PSG already in talks with Van de Beek
A Netherlands international, 22-year-old Van de Beek scored the only goal of the game in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to hand his side a 1-0 advantage going into the second leg of the tie next week in Amsterdam.
And among the plentiful observers in the stands at the return leg will be PSG, according to Canal Plus France, who report that the Ligue 1 champions – who lost out to Barça for De Jong – are already in talks with Ajax over a deal for Van de Beek.
Canal Plus journalist Geoffroy Garétier has reported that negotiations between the player and the Ligue 1 club are already at an advanced stage.
The question mark remains a potential fee. Van de Beek is valued at 25 million euros by specialist website Transfermarkt, but given Barça parted with 75 million euros to secure the signature of De Jong, Ajax will hold out for considerably more than that.