Juventus sign Matthijs de Ligt in a £67.5 million deal
What's the story
19-year-old promising Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt has secured a move to Italian champions Juventus from Ajax.
35-time Serie A winners Juventus paid a hefty sum of £67.5 mn for the star central defender. Notably, he was being targeted by several top clubs over the summer including Spanish giants Barcelona and Manchester United.
Here is more about this deal.
Deal
Matthijs signs a five-year deal
Matthijs has signed a five-year contract with the Serie A giants.
Juve will pay the fees to Ajax over a five-year period alongside additional costs of £9 mn.
The footballer will pocket £14.5 mn a year and it could rise to £21.7 mn including add-ons.
The teenage sensation has quickly grown to become one of the most promising names in modern day football.
Twitter Post
Ajax wave goodbye to the little boy
Hello as a little boy, #GoldenBye as a captain.©️#ForTheFuture pic.twitter.com/SuMYHk0CfO
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) July 18, 2019
Role
Matthijs played a strong role for Ajax
Matthijs was phenomenal for Ajax in the last few seasons.
He helped them reach the Champions League semi-finals last season.
He had made his debut for the Amsterdam club back in 2016 and became their youngest captain last season in March.
The youngster won the Dutch domestic league and cup double in 2018-19.
He also featured in the Europa League final in 2017.
Summer deals
Juve's busy summer continues
Juventus have made a statement by signing Matthijs.
Last season they roped in Cristiano Ronaldo for £88.3 mn.
This summer Juventus have acquired the likes of Matthijs, Luca Pellegrini from Roma (£20 mn), Cristian Romero from Genoa (£23.3 mn) and Merih Demiral from Sassuolo (£16.1 mn).
Meanwhile Adrien Rabiot, Gianluigi Buffon and Aaron Ramsey came in as free agents.
Information
What will the Dutchman offer?
The Dutchman is strong physically and mentally. This allows him to play with freedom. He is smart with his positioning as well as tactically sound. Juve boast of a strong defensive line and adding him has boosted that even more.