Report: Barcelona Confident of Beating Liverpool to Matthijs De Ligt

Barcelona believe they have beaten Liverpool in the race to sign Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt, who is expected to cost the Spanish champions £60 million, according to Steve Bates of the Mirror.

The club see De Ligt as the perfect replacement for 31-year-old Gerard Pique, and the 19-year-old is "tempted" to make the move to the Camp Nou, per the report.

De Ligt is one of Europe's most promising defenders. The teenager has already been installed as Ajax's captain and has become an important player at international level for the Netherlands.

He shone during Ronald Koeman's side's UEFA Nations League victory over France on Friday, keeping World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe quiet in a 2-0 win:

De Ligt brings authority to the back line, is strong, quick and comfortable on the ball. Koeman has said he expects him to leave Ajax for a bigger challenge, per Sport.

He said: "It's normal that a player of his quality, sooner of later, decides that the moment has come to take a step forward in their professional career and seek new challenges with bigger clubs and competitions."

Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars has also said his team will struggle to keep hold of their top players, per Luis F. Rojo at Marca.

"It will be difficult to retain these players who are in the newspapers every day because of the interest of other clubs," he said during a shareholders meeting. "Last year we managed to keep the group together and we only sold [Justin] Kluivert, but it won't be possible to keep this group of talented players together for the coming years."

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De Ligt looks a good fit for a Barcelona side that has struggled defensively this season. The Spanish champions have conceded 18 goals in 12 La Liga matches, and only five teams have conceded more.

Pique will turn 32 in February and is heading towards the end of his glittering career. Barcelona have made signing De Ligt their absolute priority, according to Sport's Sergi Capdevila.

The defender will certainly be in demand next summer. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has said his international team-mate will have attracted attention from the Reds.

"He will be on the list, because they have enough scouts at the club," he told De Telegraaf (h/t Goal's Jack Sear).

Italian champions Juventus have also expressed an interest in De Ligt, who accepted an invitation to visit Turin, according to Fabrizio Romano of Calciomercato.

The Dutch defender has the potential to become one of Europe's best defenders in the coming years. A move to a bigger club looks to be on the cards next summer, and he will certainly not lack for offers from top clubs.