Report: Manchester City monitoring Ajax stud De Ligt
For Premier League elite Manchester City, there could be more De Ligt on the way.
Manager Pep Guardiola is reportedly eyeing emerging Ajax star Matthijs de Ligt as an eventual replacement for club captain Vincent Kompany.
According to the Guardian's Jamie Jackson, Guardiola first wants to determine how much first-team time the 18-year-old defender would get in competition with Nicolas Otamendi, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, and Kompany.
Kompany's late-career foray into perpetual injury could boost De Ligt's chances of eventually lining up for the Premier League champ. Kompany, 32, appeared in eight of City's final 14 matches but featured just 21 times over four competitions in his 10th season with the club.
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At the start of the title-winning campaign, Guardiola lamented that Kompany's history of injuries made him a less dependable figure in the squad. "We cannot give all our confidence he will be fit because of what we have experienced the last few years," the Catalan gaffer admitted.
De Ligt checks off all the boxes for Guardiola. Technically gifted and calm in possession, the five-time capped Dutchman made 31 Eredivisie appearances this season after playing a vital role in the club's progression to the 2016-17 Europa League final. He finished third this year in Dutch Footballer of the Year voting and took home the Marco van Basten Award for Ajax's top player.