Ajax have confirmed Juve’s interest in young Dutch international centre-back Matthijs de Ligt.

The Bianconeri have followed De Ligt closely for over a year, going so far as to give the youngster a tour of the Juventus Stadium when Italy played Holland in a friendly game in 2018.

Fabio Paratici has made no secret of his admiration for the player, confirming that the Ajax captain “is also certainly one of the best young players around so we’re looking at him with great care.

The Juve sporting director was reportedly at the Johan Cruijff Arena to scout the player in during their 2-1 loss to Real Madrid on Wednesday and now Ajax general manager Edwin van der Sar hs confirmed Juve’s interest in the player.

“Will De Ligt go to Juventus? I can say that there’s only one team in Italy who want him, but I don’t know if he’ll go to Juventus…” he told Rai Sport.

The 19-year-old became the youngest-ever player to captain a team in the Champions League knockout stages this week.