Matthijs de Ligt

[Tackle]

There's no question he will come good sooner than later, IMHO. He has quality & unparalleled mentality. I didn't like his choice & how the transfer pursuit went but he'll find a level soon that will remind the naysayers why so many were after him in the first place. I think the transition from the football at Ajax to Italian football will take time to adapt and will ultimately, in all likelihood, make him an even more complete player knowing how good he was before

That is patently false.

How many times have we seen players that were pegged for greatness at ages 16-22 go on to completely flop, or at least massively underachieve?

Happens to at least 95% highly touted talents. Just go take a look at the top 50 talents in world football from 10 years ago.

De Ligt is definitely an unique, bright young talent, perhaps the best lad at his age we've seen in a while, but you cannot claim anything with certainty when projecting his future.

There is a chance he lives up to his potential, but there is a much larger chance of him not doing so.

Most of the hype surrounding the bloke is due to his age because his current footballing abilities are not consistently world class.

What is more likely is that he stagnates or does not develop as greatly as predicted into his mid-twenties, the football world finds some other great young CB to hype up and he becomes a good CB, maybe even world class, but performs at level not very noteworthy.

It is very likely this past season with his breakout, age/hype on his side, CL run with Ajax and transfer summer was the most his name will ever be spoken about.

The best CB in the world in 5 years will probably be somebody with very little current hype or perhaps even a player you have not heard of yet. CB development is especially not linear.

 

[VN10]

Yeah we have to see.

 

[FCBarca]

@Tackle That'd be true if De Ligt was some one season wonder at Ajax - he wasn't, he has been incredible for 3 seasons in the first team

He has the mentality you see in a player 10 years his senior, his decision-making will improve as it does for all footballers at his age. However, his overall profile & continued improvement even over last 3 years leaves no doubt over his future at the highest level. De Jong, is a generational talent but De Ligt is not far off as you rarely see a player with the mentality & ambition to improve like him

 

[Tackle]

@Tackle That'd be true if De Ligt was some one season wonder at Ajax - he wasn't, he has been incredible for 3 seasons in the first team

He has the mentality you see in a player 10 years his senior, his decision-making will improve as it does for all footballers at his age. However, his overall profile & continued improvement even over last 3 years leaves no doubt over his future at the highest level. De Jong, is a generational talent but De Ligt is not far off as you rarely see a player with the mentality & ambition to improve like him

Fair enough.

I think the lad has an exceptional mentality for his age as well, but mentality alone does not make a player. He will surely improve, but I am not convinced it will be at the magnitude to ever reach the zenith of CBs in world football. His leadership, mentality and physique have all hit very high levels at young age, but those are attributes that are relatively easier to develop as a player naturally matures than adding new components to their games or taking their football skills in general to the next level.

What I am not totally convinced with is his defending abilities in general and his ability to be a complete CB at a world class level. He could obviously make it and does have a better chance than an average talent, but as usual the odds are still stacked against him. That is simply the nature of the development of any talent. Even the few that look like sure things still have a relatively high flop rate, in relation to expectations at least.

This holds historically true. Varane supposedly had it all and came off a World Cup win as France's best defender, but completely fell off the map a mere year later at age 26. He could easily get himself back on track, but the point is young CBs are especially volatile. Look at De Ligt's mobility even now at age 20. He can still get around, but is not a bloke I would call "quick" or "agile" by any stretch of the imagination. Speed usually declines after a player's early twenties as susceptibility of injuries go up. De Ligt is a player that could easily "Umtiti" himself. That is something else to consider. I would not be confident placing a bet on any young defender.

He has had some impressive matches for the Dutch NT and in the CL, but the sample size is small and most of his game action came in a 2nd/3rd rate league. He was allowed to make mistakes with Ajax, a smaller club in his home country while still remaining in favour with the fans, coaches and teammates. Juventus is many levels above that.

Let's see what happens.

 

[Zidane82]

Maybe he’s just perfectly suited to certain styles of play like Ajax / Holland and will always struggle in setups like Juve have .

I dread to think what him and Roberto would be like playing together as CB and RB /right wingback ..

Calamitous springs to mind ..

 

[Juan Shoe]

Maybe he’s just perfectly suited to certain styles of play like Ajax / Holland and will always struggle in setups like Juve have .

I dread to think what him and Roberto would be like playing together as CB and RB /right wingback ..

Calamitous springs to mind ..

So he's perfectly suited to playing for Ajax and The Netherlands but you'd hate to see what he'd be like at Barca?

 

[VN10]

So he's perfectly suited to playing for Ajax and The Netherlands but you'd hate to see what he'd be like at Barca?

Just laugh and nod. I think he forgot what Barca's style is based on...

 

[raki]

 

[Andresito]

Legend

 

[Sailor Mars]

Wasn't really his fault for the penalty. His arms were pretty close to his body. Just bad luck this time.

 

[Givenchy]

Maybe he’s just perfectly suited to certain styles of play like Ajax / Holland and will always struggle in setups like Juve have .

I dread to think what him and Roberto would be like playing together as CB and RB /right wingback ..

Calamitous springs to mind ..

he looks so clumsy, almost as if he has atleast 1 huge mistake in him every game. I'd much rather a VVD/pacey type CB to partner Lenglet

Bob-Pique-De Ligt is the stuff of nightmares (for Barca)

 

[Xavinho]

De Ligt was great in Juve's 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

[tw]1200066613124435968[/tw]

 

[serghei]

I like him so much we should've signed him

 

[Kul_z]

If someone from our cb's made so many brainfarts like he did today, for example lenglet or todibo they would be slaughtered on forum and in media.

 

[Centauri B]

If someone from our cb's made so many brainfarts like he did today, for example lenglet or todibo they would be slaughtered on forum and in media.

People always tend to overhype players who score a couple of crucial goals, especially if they are not attacking players. This is what happened with De Ligt.