Juventus are in touch with Matthijs de Ligt's agent Mino Raiola as they aim to beat Barcelona to the Ajax star.

The 19-year-old is one of the most highly rated young defenders in Europe and he is believed to be a key target for Spanish champions Barcelona ahead of the summer.

But Juventus have maintained an interest in him, having given him a tour of the Allianz Stadium while playing there with Holland in the summer.

Juventus are in touch with Matthijs de Ligt's agent Mino Raiola over a potential move

Barcelona are also desperate to sign the 19-year-old defender in the summer transfer window

And according to Italian newspaper Tuttosport on Wednesday, Pavel Nedved, Juventus' vice-president, and sporting director Fabio Paratici are maintaining regular contact with Raiola ahead of a possible move.

Raiola represented Nedved during his playing career and also represents Paul Pogba, who firmly established himself as one of the world's best while in Turin.

That means there are already good relationships between the club and De Ligt's representatives.

There is already a good relationship between De Ligt's agent and the Juventus hierarchy

Barcelona are expected to compete heavily with Juventus for the teenager, having also eyed his Ajax team-mate Frenkie de Jong.

Ajax director Marc Overmars admitted last week that he will struggle to keep hold of them next summer.

'It will be a difficult job to keep the players, as I have told you many times,' he said during a meeting of shareholders.

'The newspapers write about our players daily. I can enjoy the group of players we have now, but it is impossible to maintain such a group for four years.'