A BARCELONA scout travelled to watch four Ajax players over the weekend, according to reports in Holland.
The Catalans have a long history of signing Dutch players.
And De Telegraaf report former midfielder Jose Mari Bakero was present for the Eredivisie clash against Zwolle, where he watched Justin Kluivert, Matthijs De Light, Donny van de Beek and Frenkie de Jong.
De Ligt, 18, is one of the hottest young defenders in Europe at the moment, and has been a long-term target for the Catalans.
He is a regular for Ajax, despite his age and has been tipped to join a European heavyweight in the near future.
While Kluivert, 18, has blossomed into one of the most exciting wingers around this season, after showing glimpses of his talent in the previous campaign.
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Barcelona's Dutch of class
RINUS MICHELS, the man labelled the inventor Total Football, became Barcelona’s first-ever Dutch manager in 1971, having just won the European Cup with Ajax.
Two years later, he would bring in their first player from Holland — one of the most revolutionary transfers in football history — and the Catalans have remained closely-linked with the Netherlands ever since.
Here are all of of the Dutch players to wear the famous Blaugrana:
Johan Cruyff — 1973-78
Johan Neeskens — 1974-89
Danny Muller — 1988
Ronald Koeman — 1988-95
Richard Witschge — 1991-93
Jordi Cruyff — 1993-96
Michael Reiziger — 1997-2004
Ruud Hesp — 1997-2000
Winston Bogarde — 1997-2000
Boudewijn Zenden — 1998-2001
Philipp Cocu — 1998-2004
Patrick Kluivert — 1998-2004
Ronald de Boer — 1999-2000
Frank de Boer — 1999-2003
Marc Overmars — 2000-04
Giovanni van Bronckhorst — 2003-07
Edgar Davids — 2004
Mark van Bommel — 2005-06
Ibrahim Afellay — 2011-15
Jasper Cillessen — 2016-present
His famous father Patrick spent six years with Barcelona, scoring 122 goals.
Van Beek, 20, has been compared to Paul Scholes in his homeland due to his ability to make late runs into the box and is one of the best players in the current Ajax side.
THREE’S A CHARM Who makes France Football’s list of top ten best front threes ever?
Midfielder De Jong, 20, has been likened to former Dutch great Frank Rijkaard, and Ajax legend Arie Haan believes he can go onto be better than one of the greatest players in history.
The three-time European Cup winner claimed: “De Jong is a better version of Franz Beckenbauer, because he has speed and passes the ball easily.”
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