We knew de Ligt wouldn’t sign – so why does it hurt?
One-time Liverpool transfer target Matthijs de Ligt is going to sign for Juventus. We knew he’d never come to Anfield, so why does it still hurt?
We had a chance didn’t we? We really thought we had a chance, definitely more of a chance than Manchester United. But now the Old Lady has gone and ruined everything.
Those hopes and dreams of de Ligt lining up alongside Virgil van Dijk kinda started to evaporate around June and the start of July, but as long as he wasn’t confirmed for anyone else it could still be us. Like a football Schrodinger’s Cat. It was Michael Edwards’ Cat, but much worse.
And it would have been so good too. The master and apprentice, each feeding off each other until an unstoppable vortex of Dutch delight made fully grown men cry and rendered the best goalkeeper in the world largely useless. Until now.
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But we all knew van Dijk and de Ligt wouldn’t forge the same partnership at club level as they do for the Netherlands. We knew it. So why does it still hurt?
Well, it hurts because this is a deal that could have been possible and one that would have secured a key position in the team for a very long time. Yes, the figures are large. The Daily Mail quoted a £63 million with a substantial salary, but it’s one that Liverpool could have afforded.
While central defence isn’t a problem position and the squad has excellent options and good cover, the transfer team should have been looking at ways to make it even better for even longer. Joe Gomez is excellent and will be a top player, but one of Joel Matip or Dejan Lovren could have easily made way to create space for de Ligt.
It’s also a signing that would prove ambition and continue a fantastic philosophy of looking to the future and trusting youth.
Next. Could Matthijs de Ligt have transformed Liverpool into domestic titans? We played five seasons of Football Manager to find out!. dark
Ultimately there were too many factors that meant Liverpool didn’t want to sign de Ligt. Juventus have taken advantage of that and secured a great player who is going to be tremendous footballer and that’s what hurts the most.