DE LIGT’S GONE OUT FOR PREM

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AJAX defender Matthijs De Ligt’s decision to link up with super-agent Mino Raiola could cost him a dream move to the Premier League.

Sunday Mirror Sport revealed last May that Manchester City were interested in the Holland teenager, who faces Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have also watched the 19-year-old in action in the last 12 months.

And Barcelona are another club reported to be keen on the £50millionrated De Ligt, who will be allowed to follow close friend Frenkie de Jong out of the Amsterdam Arena in the summer.

But, so far, only Juventus and Paris SaintGermain have contacted Ajax to make their interest official.

And the belief in Holland is that English clubs are reluctant to do business with Raiola (above).

Pep Guardiola fell out with Raiola after forcing Ibrahimovic to quit Barcelona in 2011.

And, when the Monaco-based agent branded the City boss “a coward and a dog” last year, Guardiola retaliated by mocking Raiola for asking the Blues if they were interested in signing Pogba from rivals United.

Old Trafford bosses have also become wary of dealing with Raiola after they discovered he had been touting Pogba to Europe’s top clubs after the French midfielder’s war of words with Jose Mourinho.

And Raiola proved a difficult individual for Arsenal to negotiate with when Henrikh Mkhitaryan moved to the Emirates from Manchester United as a makeweight in the deal that took Alexis Sanchez to Old Trafford last year.

City are in the market for a new central defender, with Vincent Kompany soon out of contract and struggling with injury.

United, Arsenal and Chelsea are also in need of defensive reinforcements.

Ajax were hoping that the level of interest would spark a bidding war.

De Ligt (left) is a big admirer of English football and is touted as the next Virgil van Dijk after forging a strong partnership with the Liverpool defender for Holland.

He earns £30,000 a week and City view him as a long-term replacement for Kompany.

Already captain of Ajax, De Ligt will get the chance to test himself when his club face Real Madrid in the Champions League this

week.