De Ligt to delight Juve fans in S'pore

The third-most expensive teenage footballer in history will be in town this weekend, as Serie A champions Juventus confirmed yesterday that Matthijs de Ligt will travel to Singapore for the International Champions Cup (ICC).

The Italian club tweeted their 27-strong travelling squad yesterday, which included the 19-year-old former Ajax captain, who completed his €75 million (S$114.4 million) deal on Thursday.

The Netherlands defender was pictured giving a shy smile and a thumbs-up on board a plane on the club's Twitter account yesterday.

He could make his debut for the Old Lady tomorrow when Juve meet Tottenham in the ICC at the National Stadium.

Manchester United and Inter Milan will lock horns in the other ICC match tonight.

Stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Gianluigi Buffon, Mario Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain will also travel to Singapore and they are expected to arrive early this morning.

However, the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Douglas Costa, captain Giorgio Chiellini and Mattia Perin are recovering from injuries and did not make the trip.

Also missing are Moise Kean, Paulo Dybala, Luca Pellegrini, Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado, as well as Sami Khedira, who has been linked with a move to Turkey's Fenerbahce.

De Ligt was among the most sought-after players in the off-season, following his starring role in Ajax's domestic league and cup double.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 20, 2019, with the headline De Ligt to delight Juve fans in S'pore. Subscribe