Manchester City are leading the race for Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt, according to reports in the Netherlands.
Juventus, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are all said to be keen on the 19-year-old, but it appears the Citizens have the edge currently.
The Manchester club were also interested in de Ligt’s teammate Frenkie de Jong but reports suggest he could join either PSG or Barca.
Fans on Twitter are split on whether a move for de Ligt is a good idea:
That’s what I expected to be!
Get him now.
— Festo Lucas (@Festovic_Mcfc) 23 January 2019
PLEASEEEEEEEEE DONT FAIL FOR THIS LAD
— sicko mode (@hendikasugandi) 23 January 2019
Don’t we have enough CB? I don’t want to see Laporte, Stones leave the club
— Henri? (@HDoyen) 23 January 2019
He’s the actual talent in that Ajax team. Has the heart of a Lion.
Matthijs de Ligt ?
— Luigi Riva ??????????? (@tunde_vorm) 23 January 2019
I’m deLigt-ed to hear that
— ᴡɪʟᴅᴀɴ (@syuruq) 23 January 2019
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have the kid on the team. I just don’t see City making him a priority signing in the summer when they have much more obvious needs that they are afraid to pull the trigger on due to the ffp investigation. Makes little since
— Collin Bumgardner (@Bum2879) 23 January 2019
Don’t want him.
— Nasir (@CandorCity) 23 January 2019
I’ve seen him play and he’s not worth no more than 30 million if that
— OJuice (@clevelandforte) 23 January 2019
He’s going to sit on the bench…. pic.twitter.com/cxnhmpULsC
— Sodiq | صدیق (@sodiq_ojikutu) 23 January 2019
I very much doubt we’ll pay the asking price. If we won’t pay it for a vital CDM I can’t see us paying it for an ‘extra’ centre back.
— City ’til I Cry! (@tomritchiemcfc) 23 January 2019
With Nicolas Otamendi expressing his desire for more first-team football, De Ligt could be lined up as a potential replacement for the Argentinian international.
The Dutch centre-back has tremendous promise, and he could also prove to be Vincent Kompany’s long term successor.
The City captain is now 32 and there’s no doubt the Belgian could be an ideal mentor for de Ligt if the teenager moves to the Etihad Stadium in the coming months.
