Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt said the youngsters at the Allianz Stadium work hard to become like their ‘more experienced teammates’.
De Ligt moved from Ajax to the Allianz Stadium for €85.5m in July 2019 and the 21-year-old said the ‘mentality’ at his former club helps him at the Old Lady.
“Courage and discipline characterise the style of Ajax,” De Ligt told Icon. “Everyone expects you to learn to play the ball without fear and that you show you are really there.
Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt said the youngsters at the Allianz Stadium work hard to become like their ‘more experienced teammates’.
De Ligt moved from Ajax to the Allianz Stadium for €85.5m in July 2019 and the 21-year-old said the ‘mentality’ at his former club helps him at the Old Lady.
“Courage and discipline characterise the style of Ajax,” De Ligt told Icon. “Everyone expects you to learn to play the ball without fear and that you show you are really there.
“This mentality is helping me a lot at Juventus too.”
The young Dutch centre-back said he wouldn’t be at Juventus if the club didn’t think he’s ‘good enough to deserve it’ and stressed the younger players in the squad are working hard to take over from the more experienced stars at Juve.
“They only bring you to Juventus if you are good enough to deserve it,” he added. “Us youngsters, who have recently arrived, know this.
“We are growing and want to become like our more experienced teammates. We want to be the new [Giorgio] Chiellini, [Leonardo] Bonucci or [Gianluigi] Buffon.
“We work hard every day to always improve and we are trying to get to know each other better even off the pitch.”
De Ligt, who returned from a shoulder injury earlier this month, is the only recognised centre-back available for Andrea Pirlo ahead of tonight’s clash with Ferencvaros in the Champions League.
He is expected to be paired with Danilo in the heart of the defence, as Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Merih Demiral are out injured.