​Barcelona are to welcome Ajax centre-back Matthijs de Ligt to the Camp Nou in the coming months with a proposed €45m (£40m) move set to be completed in January, according to Dutch television news outlet Ziggo Sport, as quoted by ​Sport Bible .





The Catalonians have been on the hunt for a young centre-back for some time, with the target to replace ageing Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano sooner rather than later very much a priority.

Ajax' first team won 8-0 against NAC Breda, tonight.

5️⃣ Goals were scored by our former Youth-players!



3️⃣ Donny van de Beek ⚽️⚽️⚽️

2️⃣ Matthijs de Ligt ⚽️⚽️



 #nacaja #InYouthWeTrust #Ajax #AjaxYouth pic.twitter.com/CIe3XHflWA — AjaxDaily Youth (@ajaxdailydotya) November 18, 2017

It had been thought that Ernesto Valverde's side were eyeing up one of any of Lazio' Stefan de Vrij, Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli or RB Leipzig's up and coming star Dayot Upamecano, however it appears D e Ligt is the preferable choice.





Just earlier this week there were reports that the 18-year-old, who only signed a new deal over the summer, had decided to remain at the Johan Cruijff Arena for the foreseeable future in order to master his trade before moving on.

I swear Culers who want De Ligt has barely watched him play in Eredevise... He's still very raw. Not ready. — Cruijffista (@LaComputadora14) November 9, 2017

However, according to the Dutch broadcaster, the €45m deal is set to take place in the upcoming transfer window, allowing Barca to capture one of the most highly thought of young defenders on the continent.





The Netherlands international, even at such a young age, has been one of the stand-out players within the Eredivisie so far this campaign, starting all 12 of Ajax's outings and playing an instrumental role in his side holding the joint best defensive record in the league alongside third place PEC Zwolle .

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