Juventus ‘reject Barcelona’s renewed pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt’… with Spanish giants back in for Dutch centre back having missed out on him in 2019 to their European rivals
- LaLiga contenders Barcelona are reportedly interested again in Matthijs de Ligt
- Barca missed out when Juventus took the Holland centre back to Serie A in 2019
- A bid is said to have been hinted at during talks over the European Super League
- De Ligt signed a five-year contract at Juve when he signed from Ajax for £67.8m
Barcelona have failed in a renewed attempt to prise Holland centre back Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus, according to reports.
LaLiga hopefuls Barca missed out on De Ligt when he joined Juve as a teenage sensation in 2019, signing for £67.8million after helping Ajax reach the 2018/19 Champions League semi-finals and win the Eredivisie title.
La Blaugrana had wanted De Ligt to join at the same time as fellow Holland prodigy Frenkie de Jong, who completed his move from the Dutch giants for £65million that summer.
Juventus faced competition from Barcelona for Matthijs de Ligt when he joined them from Ajax
The Spanish giants signed Frenkie de Jong from Ajax in 2019 and had wanted De Ligt to follow
De Ligt has not hit the heights in Turin that the 21-year-old did with Ajax, suffering successive early Champions League exits and missing out on the Serie A title this season for the first time in 10 years.
The Nations League winner only overcame a serious shoulder problem earlier this season, although he has been ever-present for Juventus in their last nine games, setting up Alex Sandro’s opener and scoring a second-half header in the 3-1 win over Parma in their last home game.
Ronald Koeman knows De Ligt from his spell as Holland manager and Barca bosses mentioned De Ligt during talks with Juventus over the failed European Super League, AS has reported.
Juventus reportedly dismissed the idea of De Ligt being reunited with De Jong, preferring to keep hold of the man who signed a five-year deal when he moved to Italy.
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman (centre) knows De Ligt from his time in charge of Holland
Koeman remains on the hunt for new defenders, with an eye on a successor to veteran centre back Gerard Pique.
France defender Samuel Umtiti has suffered with injuries this season, and former target David Alaba eventually agreed to join arch-rivals Real Madrid from Bayern Munich.
De Ligt was unimpressed after Juventus drew 1-1 at Fiorentina two weeks ago as part of a run that has seen the dethroned champions keep only one clean sheet in 11 matches.
The defender told Sky Sport Italia: ‘We need more intensity, more courage with the ball. We have to defend better.
‘We were thinking about the Scudetto, but now the target is to finish second. We are strong and we must aim high.’
De Ligt and De Jong’s reputations rose at Ajax and Barcelona remain eager to reunite the duo
