Former Finland icon Jari Litmanen believes Ajax youngster Matthijs de Ligt will become the most expensive defender in football history.

Litmanen left Ajax to join Barcelona in 1999 and De Ligt, who is a top transfer target for the Catalan club, could make the same move this summer.

“At 19 years old, he is already exceptional,” Litmanen, who also had a spell at Liverpool, told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Can you imagine what he will be like at 23? I don’t know if he will go to Juventus (Litmanen was asked specifically if he could join the Italian giants), but when he leaves Ajax, he will be the most expensive defender in history.”

Along with Juve, De Ligt is also a target for Barca and a number of other top European teams.

Reports in Spain claim the Netherlands defender met with Barca’s sporting director Eric Abidal for lunch last week to discuss a possible transfer.

Barca have conceded 19 goals in La Liga already this season and the champions are also looking to bring in an experienced centre-back as cover in the January transfer window.

The world’s most expensive defender is currently De Ligt’s international team-mate Virgil van Dijk, who moved from Southampton to Liverpool for a fee of around £75 million at the beginning of this year.