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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Ned Keating

Matthijs de Ligt's four-word message to Juventus fans after arriving in Italy

Matthijs de Ligt had a four-word message for Juventus fans as he touched down in Turin to complete a move to the Italian champions.

The transfer saga surrounding the 19-year-old looks to be finally nearing its conclusion after he was linked with a host of Europe's elite clubs over the past few months.

In recent weeks, the Serie A champions emerged as the front runners to sign the centre-back having agreed personal terms with the Dutch defender, but were still haggling with Ajax over a fee for the teenager.

The two European giants have now reached an agreement, with Juve said to be paying around £67.5m to sign one of the world's most promising talents.

Matthijs de Ligt had a message for Juventus fans after touching down on Tuesday night (@juventusfc/Twitter)

De Ligt landed in Italy on Tuesday night ahead of completing a medical with the Italian outfit and putting the final touches to the switch.

Juve's media team were present to see the 19-year-old touch down and they didn't miss a chance to get de Ligt to address his new fans for the first time.

"Happy to be here," said the Dutch international, before jumping in a car and heading off to a hotel for the night.

Juventus have beaten off stiff competition from across the continent to sign de Ligt with a clutch of elite teams having previously been linked with the promising centre-back.

De Ligt is on the verge of completing a £67.5m switch to Juventus from Ajax (Action Images via Reuters)

In the Premier League alone, Manchester City , Liverpool and Manchester United were all said to be weighing up a move for the teenager at some stage.

Real Madrid , Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain were also reported to be looking into the prospect of signing the defender from Ajax this summer.

De Ligt, though, has chosen Juve as his next club after he claimed Cristiano Ronaldo had tried to convince him to make the move following last month's UEFA Nations League final between winners Portugal and the Netherlands.

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