Arsenal join the race to sign young defender

According to reports from the Sun, Arsenal have joined the race to sign Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt. De Ligt is one of Europe’s most promising youngsters and has done really well for Ajax.

This season, de Ligt has made 35 appearances for Ajax this season, scoring three goals and providing two assists.

De Ligt is a highly sought-after defender with several top clubs wanting him. The clubs interested in signing de Ligt include Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United and Liverpool.

And now, Arsenal have also joined the race to sign de Ligt. Arsenal need a quality centre-back and the Ajax captain could be a strong addition to their side.

Arsenal are looking for a director of football. Provided they manage to persuade Ajax’s current director of football Marc Overmars to join them in the same position, the Gunners may have some luck in signing de Ligt.

Arsenal will face heavy competition from many top clubs to sign de Ligt. Barcelona and Juventus are the favorites to land the Dutchman. Barca recently signed de Ligt’s teammate Frenkie de Jong. Hence, they might hope for de Jong to convince de Ligt to join him.

A few months back, de Ligt’s father said that a move to Juventus is also quite possible. Reports from Tuttosport claimed that Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici traveled to Amsterdam last week to meet de Ligt.

Another major disadvantage that Arsenal might face in signing de Ligt would be the transfer fee. De Ligt is currently rated at £75 million, a price which would skin Arsenal financially. The Gunners will have to sell the likes of Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi if they are to raise enough funds to sign de Ligt.