Football
Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer 5y

Ajax will not sell Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong in January - Edwin van der Sar

Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar has told ESPN FC the club will not sell Matthijs de Ligt or Frenkie de Jong in the January transfer window.

De Ligt, 19, was named European Golden Boy on Monday and has a number of suitors with Juventus and Barcelona linked with a move for the defender, while De Jong is also on the radar of a number of top clubs with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City reportedly keen.

But asked whether Ajax would be open to selling any of their star players in the January transfer window, Van der Sar told ESPN FC: "No, no, no. That's a no. We're not going to sell a player halfway through the season. No way. If you have financial difficulties you might look at it, but for us no."

De Ligt, the youngest captain in Ajax's history, is aware of the interest in his services but is not paying attention to speculation, and is looking ahead to playing Real Madrid in the round-of-16 of the Champions League.

"We've qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League," De Ligt told ESPN FC. "Of course you want to go as along as possible in the tournament. We want to be champions this year. We have to keep improving and keep the pressure on PSV.

"We've had a good season until this moment, but it says a lot that they are still ahead of us, so that says a lot about PSV. We want to win the cup, also. You want to win as many prizes as possible."

Van der Sar knows De Ligt and De Jong are being closely monitored by a number of top European teams, but sees their interest as a "compliment" to the club.

But he pointed to how the club is financially stable, that they sell out every game and how they have a "war chest" for why they have no need to sell their players any time soon.

^ Back to Top ^