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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Liam Prenderville

Matthijs De Ligt 'receives late transfer offer' as Juventus deal is hijacked

Matthijs de Ligt is finally set to complete his move to Juventus despite a late attempt to snare him from Barcelona .

The Dutchman emerged as the hottest property in world football this summer with Manchester United , Liverpool and PSG all tipped to make a move.

Barca also appeared to be in pole position but failed to reach an agreement and De Ligt is now set to seal his switch to Turin this week.

De Ligt is expected to undergo his medical with Juventus on Monday, arriving for a fee of £60m, with the Italian champions inserting a release clause of £135m (€150m).

Matthijs de Ligt (REUTERS)

Mundo Deportivo reports Barca made a late ploy to swoop for De Ligt, with president Josep Maria Bartomeu seeking face-to-face talks.

Bartomeu planned a trip to Amsterdam and despite agreeing terms with Juventus, De Ligt was open to meeting him.

But his agent Mino Raiola intervened and spoke with the Barca chief, advising him they would only hold discussions if the La Liga giants could match the terms on offer from Juve - around £9m per-season.

Ajax's Matthijs de Ligt celebrates (Action Images via Reuters)

It is claimed Bartomeu decided to end their interest with De Ligt tipped to finalise his switch this week.

However, it has previously been reported that Raiola has advised De Ligt that he can afford to wait another couple of years before joining a European powerhouse.

The 19-year-old is likely to remain on the radar of Barcelona and Real Madrid among others and he will now have the opportunity to showcase his talents at Juventus.

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