Spurs transfer news: Tottenham give up on Ajax star Matthijs De Ligt

Tottenham have given up on their pursuit of Ajax star Matthijs De Ligt, reports The Daily Star.

The Dutchman, 19, is regarded as one of the best young defenders in Europe right now and polished his credentials with another powerful display as Ajax dumped Juventus out of the Champions League. He was one of the stars in the show in Turin, heading in the winner from a late corner.

And after another colossal performance in defence, Tottenham, who have followed De Ligt’s progress for over a year now, have accepted the defender is out of their reach, claims The Daily Star. In fact, the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Barcelona are all credited with an interest in the teenage prodigy, who is valued at £69m.

The report claims Mauricio Pochettino is keen to strengthen his defensive options in the summer, with Toby Alderweireld’s future in doubt and Jan Vertonghen set to turn 32 later this month.

Tottenham have to look at De Ligt’s alternatives

De Ligt is one of the hottest properties in European football, making more than 100 appearances for the senior Ajax side despite still only being 19, while he has 15 caps for the Netherlands to his name. He is certain to have a very bright future as top clubs continue monitoring his progress at Ajax.

As far as Spurs are concerned, we could lose out De Ligt to a bigger club. The price-tag of £69m is way above our budget, given we are likely to have limited funds to spend in the summer after investing millions on the new stadium.

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Thus, it will be wise on Pochettino’s part to start plotting De Ligt’s alternatives to bolster our defence ahead of the next season.