Former Ajax goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen has revealed that he was shocked when he first saw Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur target Matthijs de Ligt in training at the Amsterdam giants.
Ajax snapped up Cillessen from NEC Nijmegen in 2011 and the goalkeeper got the chance to see De Ligt as he took his first steps towards the senior team.
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 14th |
| 2023–24 | 9th |
| 2022–23 | 14th |
| 2021–22 | 7th |
| 2020–21 | 6th |
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 16th |
| 2023–24 | 14th |
| 2022–23 | 13th |
| 2021–22 | 10th |
| 2020–21 | 13th |
The goalkeeper was able to assess De Ligt in training and admits that at the time he simply could not believe the defender was 16 years old.
Cillessen told Dutch magazine Voetbal International: "I remember Matthijs de Ligt for the first time attending a training camp with Ajax.
"I looked at his posture and almost could not believe he was only 16 years old.
"He was already a grown up in his behaviour."
Ajax managed to keep hold of De Ligt over the course of the summer transfer window, but are facing an uphill battle to repeat the task next year.
De Ligt has been linked with clubs such as Manchester City, Tottenham, Juventus, AC Milan, Roma, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
Now 19 years old, the centre-back has already won ten caps for the Netherlands at international level.
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 9th (Championship) |
| 2023–24 | 5th (Championship — lost in play‑off semi‑finals) |
| 2022–23 | 9th (Championship) |
| 2021–22 | 10th (Championship) |
| 2020–21 | 19th (Premier League) |
