'I saw De Ligt!' Pivotal role of Ajax coach

Tyrone Marshall talks to academy boss who helped defender become one of the most sough-after players across Europe

- Tyrone Marshall

THERE was a time in the Ajax academy when Matthijs de Ligt was making none of his youth team coaches happy.

The 13-year-old De Ligt was already heading up towards 6ft and could put on muscle quite easily.

As a centre-back in that age group, he was almost like a cheat code.

At De Toekomst, Ajax's impressive academy facility, they knew this was pointless for De Ligt's development.

He was getting nothing out of it.

So Ruben Jongkind, the former Ajax head of academy development, and academy chief Wim Jonk took the decision to take De Ligt out of his comfort zone.

No longer would he marshall the defence for his own age group, but he would step up a year or two.

"We saw already that he had a let's say in the total footballer model that we used back then. We had a very good eye for the individual," Jongkind, who first watched De Ligt when he was 11, told the Manchester Evening News.

"It was also the Cruyff plan to educate the individuals, focus on that and shift the focus from resultdriven youth academy towards long-term development plans for each individual. So we were analysing him. Okay, he has good technique, he has a proper physique, he understands the game very well and his mindset is really good.

"He's a winner and also a team player. So people saw that he can become a great player.

"But then it was funny because the coaches wanted to keep him in their respective teams. So when he was U13 or U14 he was playing centre-back and of course, he had so much that it was hard for the opponents to score goals against him."

Jongkind and Jonk looked at what De Ligt would need to make it as a centre-back at Ajax.

He would have to play a high defensive line, he will need quick reactions, he will almost be more of a midfielder than a defender.