Barcelona are keen on landing a target also on Real Madrid’s radar, but they may once again lose a man out to their arch rivals.
Juventus won an intense transfer battle ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid to get their hands on former Ajax Amsterdam captain Matthijs de Ligt. The Italian champions ended up paying 75 million euros and an additional bonus in variables so as to land the Dutchman who was touted to achieve great things at arguably the best club in the Serie A.
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Unfortunately, the Netherlands international has not made a bright start to life at the Allianz Stadium and has largely been a second-choice player, behind Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. The former’s ACL injury did open the door to de Ligt, but it was Turkish defender Merih Demiral who performed better and impressed Maurizio Sarri.
Matthijs de Ligt is expected to leave Juventus just one year since signing on and will probably listen to offers during the summer. Apart from just having his time limited in Italy, de Ligt has been underperforming with respect to his potential and has reportedly felt unsettled at his new club as well.
Diario GOL has reported that the central defender’s feelings have been noticed by Barcelona as well as Real Madrid, who will attempt to make a swoop for him in the summer. Given that de Ligt has not played very often this year, his value could be fairly reasonable for both clubs and they would be willing to pay a price of less than 75 million for him.
Barcelona are looking likely to lose out on Samuel Umtiti during the summer as the France international seeks to join a club for more minutes. The former Lyon man has not many suitors at this point in time, but any reasonable offer could see him leave the Camp Nou. With Gerard Pique ageing as well, de Ligt would be a super signing for the Blaugrana.
Real Madrid on the other hand have decided that they will pursue a replacement for Sergio Ramos as well over the upcoming months. Their primary choices such as Kalidou Koulibaly and Milan Skriniar are exorbitantly priced, so a younger and unsettled Matthijs de Ligt may be a financially better option for a club, lining up several major transfers soon.
According to the claims, Barca could be set to lose out on their target for a second straight year as de Ligt seems to prefer a move to Real Madrid instead. The player is well aware of the internal situation at the Camp Nou but Los Merengues are performing very well, signifying to be a more successful outfit over the years to come.
Do you think Matthijs de Ligt departing Juventus to join a Spanish outfit this summer?