One of Juventus’ best players in their match against Fiorentina last night was Matthijs de Ligt.
The Dutchman needed to deliver an excellent performance against the prolific Dusan Vlahovic, and he did exactly that.
De Ligt has come under criticism for his performances at Juve, but he delivered an impeccable one against the Serbian.
He won the aerial battles between the pair and never gave the striker space on the ground.
His performance shows that he can replace either Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci in the long-term and Calciomercato praised him for it.
They write: “He canceled Dusan Vlahovic from the field, to start and finish.The Serbian striker fought, he tried to stand up to him, he was simply beaten. Each high ball was from De Ligt. Every movement was thwarted from the start. Fundamental after fundamental, duel after duel, there was a winner and a loser: De Ligt won, Vlahovic lost.”
De Ligt remains one of the finest young centre-backs in Europe at the moment and the Dutchman showed yesterday that he is truly a class act.
There have been talks of him leaving the club in the summer and we know Mino Raiola loves to move his clients around.
Juve would be smart to keep him at the club beyond this season and perhaps for the next few years because replacing him would be tough.
However, his sale could help the club raise much-needed funds from the next summer transfer window and that puts them in a tricky position.
As the Bianconeri look to move up the league table, fans will hope De Ligt maintains his level of performance and helps them to achieve their seasonal aims.
