Barcelona President Confirms Summer Pursuit for Ajax's De Ligt
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has confirmed that the La Liga giants will look into a move for Ajax wonderkid Matthijs de Ligt, after being impressed with the 19-year-old's performance against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
De Ligt has long been linked with a blockbuster move to the likes of Barcelona and Manchester City, and his stock will only have risen after he captained Ajax to a memorable 4-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu, eliminating Real from the Champions League in the process.
Speaking on Ser Catalunya's Aqui amb Josep Cuni, Bartomeu confirmed that De Ligt is one of their primary transfer targets for the summer.
He said: "We have to speak from March, when we make decisions, but his [De Ligt's] name will be on the table for sure."
Barcelona's interest in De Ligt is thought to date back several months, but Sport claim that his performance against Real left the Blaugrana in awe, and they have now been completely convinced that they want to make a move to try sign him in the summer.
The La Liga side have already secured an expensive move to sign de Ligt's teammate Frenkie de Jong in the summer, and it now appears as though they will look to bring the centre-back to the Camp Nou alongside him.
Club officials Ramon Planes and Bojan Krkic Sr. were in the stands to watch the pair against Real, and they now firmly believe that De Ligt would be a suitable long-term replacement for Gerard Pique, who turned 32 years old in February.
They would like De Ligt to line up alongside the likes of Samuel Umtiti, Clement Lenglet and Jean-Clair Todibo in the heart of Barcelona's defense, as they seek to preserve their status as one of the world's top sides.
However, they will likely face serious competition in their pursuit of the Dutchman. The likes of City, Juventus and Bayern Munich are all thought to be considering making sizeable offers for De Ligt, who will command a similar fee to the €86m Ajax demanded from Barcelona to sign De Jong in January.
