Matthijs De Ligt is on the radar of the top clubs in the world, but his future could still be at Juventus, as he hinted in an interview: “I have noticed that the team is giving me more and more responsibilities. Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci have often been injured. Therefore, there is much more pressure on me, and I like it. I realized that I can take on a bigger role.”
The defender addressed previous remarks by Mino Raiola while talking to Ziggo Sport. The agent had stated that the Dutchman was ready for the next step: “We are in the running in three different competitions, and I am really enjoying myself here. I am learning something new every week. Mino said that three months ago, and a lot can change in such span. I am completely focused on this season at the moment.”
De Ligt weighed in on the title race, as Juventus are trying to stage a comeback: “A few weeks back, we were 14 points behind the first position. We had stopped thinking about it and zeroed in on qualifying for the Champions League. We have been gaining some ground since then, as Inter, Milan, and Napoli slowed down, and we cut the gap in half. It would take a miracle for us to win, but the situation is a lot better than 13 games ago.”
The center-back commented on the late departure of Cristiano Ronaldo: “We took a hit because we lost 30 goals all of a sudden. We could not sign somebody like Dusan Vlahovic because there was not enough time. As for the newcomer, I saw that he was very technically sound when I faced him. His determination to score really impressed me. We needed somebody like him up front.”