The 19-year-old Ajax ace has been tipped to reach exceptional heights by several coaches and appears to feel he is ready for a new challenge
Matthijs de Ligt seems so clearly destined to become a world-class defender that some people already see it as a foregone conclusion.
The centre-back’s rapid progress since his breakthrough at Ajax more than two years ago has inspired a constant stream of prophecies of imminent greatness, growing in grandiosity with each new example of his apparently infinite potential.
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman has tipped him to become “the best centre-back in the world in two years” and overtake Wesley Sneijder as his nation’s most capped player.
Feyenoord and Netherlands great Rinus Israel believes he is “already better” than football’s most expensive defender Virgil van Dijk, while Utrecht coach Dick Advocaat says he is “one of the best in Europe at his age” and predicted a transfer in excess of €80 million.
Naturally, Barcelona and Manchester City have long been at the front of the queue of European powers trying to sign the 19-year-old, but Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar and De Ligt’s father have confirmed Juventus want him, too.
Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have also been credited with an interest. After confirming the €75 million sale of Frenkie de Jong to Barcelona at the end of the season, Ajax seem doomed to lose another rare talent.
The hype is easy to understand. He is simultaneously a precocious talent and an established star.
Last week, he became the youngest player to reach 100 appearances for Ajax, marking the occasion with his 10th goal as they beat Feyenoord 3-0 in the KNVB Beker semi-final.
It adds to the previous records he has set as the youngest ever to captain the club, play in a European final and feature for Netherlands since 1931.
“That is unprecedented, for a player to develop so quickly and become a mainstay,” said Ajax coach Erik ten Hag. “If you already belong to the 100 club at this age, it shows he is a real Ajax player.
“It is a wonderful career, but still a bit early. There are still many beautiful years to come. He has a fantastic career ahead.”
De Ligt joined Ajax at the age of nine and made his way through the academy determined to reach the first team.
When he was 15, he said his goal was to break through within five years, but even he vastly under-rated his maturity because he accomplished it less than 18 months later, marking his debut with a goal in the KNVB Beker win over Willem II.
Partnering Davinson Sanchez in defence, he soon took on a key role in Ajax’s unexpected journey to the Europa League final to prove himself as one of the most promising centre-backs on the continent.
He is blessed with natural talent, but his great work ethic has been crucial to his swift development. For years De Ligt has put in a lot of extra work to improve individual aspects of his game.
He was inspired by Lionel Messi to only use his left leg during training to strengthen his weaker foot and makes efforts to improve his speed and agility.
Tall, strong and powerful, De Ligt’s physical stature, excellent use of strength and good timing in tackles make him a solid defender.
“Matthijs is what I call a modern central defender,” Ajax’s former head of youth development Wim Jonk said in 2015, a year before his Ajax debut. “He is big and strong and is also a complete player, he is two-legged, has a good pass and can maintain the overview.
“He has a naturally good presence, a real winner-type with good focus. It’s up to him to continue developing himself so that he becomes a real leader who can transfer his positive attitude to his team-mates.”
“The best thing is his body, that does not come from nowhere,” ex-Feyenoord centre-back John de Wolf said on Fox Sports recently. “But also, the maturity in his interviews, the critical look at himself. That he is Ajax’s captain at a young age is fantastic.
“Maybe he can become more consistent, even more in charge at the back, that’s what you’ve got the armband for. But when I was this age, I played with amateurs, so this guy is really going to be a big one.”
He is mentally resilient beyond his years. His Netherlands career started in disaster when he gave away two goals in a 2-0 defeat to Bulgaria that helped doom Oranje’s World Cup campaign.
It was the decision that ended Danny Blind’s reign as coach and although De Ligt was shown a red card in his second appearance – a friendly against Morocco – he returned six months later and has not missed a game since.
Netherlands have improved drastically since Koeman took over and De Ligt is guaranteed a key role in their bid to return to relevance on the international stage.
Excelling alongside Van Dijk as they hold their own against France and Germany while he battles Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the Champions League with Ajax, De Ligt has spent enough time mixing with the elite to know he wants to stay among them.
“I just spoke with Matthijs de Ligt about the fact that he thinks he doesn’t get challenged a lot in the Dutch league,” Koeman told a news conference last November after De Ligt complained of the growing gap in quality in the Eredivisie.
“I didn’t know that he said that in the press, but I can imagine he thinks like that.”
He added: “I think it’s clear that a player like Matthijs de Ligt in a certain moment decides to make a step to a bigger league, to another level.”
He has not been impervious to mistakes in the Eredivisie, even if he thinks he has outgrown it, but De Ligt has good reason to believe he is ready to launch himself into a more testing environment.
No one seems to doubt he is made for it.
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