De Ligt wins 2018 Golden Boy

By Football Italia staff

Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt has won the 2018 Golden Boy Award as the most promising Under-21 player in Europe.

The 19-year-old is already captain of the Ajax squad and has 13 senior caps under his belt for the Netherlands.

Tuttosport hand out the award every year with votes coming in from an international panel.

Last season, Kylian Mbappé took the trophy and went on to play a key role in France winning the 2018 World Cup.

The five finalists this year were Roma winger Justin Kluivert, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and Milan striker Patrick Cutrone.

De Ligt came up through the Ajax academy and has been linked with every top club in Europe, including Juventus, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

He is already valued at well over €60m and will receive the Golden Boy title in Turin on Monday.

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