Report: Matthijs de Ligt to undergo Juventus medical on Monday

The news on the Matthijs de Ligt on Saturday involved the 19-year-old center back not being included in Ajax’s traveling party to Austria for further preseason preparations. There’s a good reason for that: It’s because de Ligt is about to take a flight somewhere else.

Turin, to be exact.

With Friday reports that Juventus and Ajax have agreed to a €70 million deal for the in-demand central defender, La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that de Ligt is expected in Turin on Monday to undergo his medical exams and complete his highly-anticipated move to the eight-time defending Italian champions.

Ah, yes. The step in the process that a whole heck of a lot of us have been waiting for.

And for the second straight July, J Medical will be the place to be as a superstar signing rolls up in a Jeep, hops out, waves to the crowd and then gets on the treadmill to pose for a few pictures with his thumbs up and a big smile on his face.

For de Ligt, the end of the lengthy negotiation process is in sight, with his expected arrival in Turin at some point this weekend being the moment that truly makes the reality set in of one of Europe’s top young players about to sign for Juventus rather than some of the other big-money clubs he has been linked to over the course of the last six or eight months.

But, that is simply the past now. With de Ligt expected to complete his move to Juventus on Monday, he will be able to not only train with his new teammates, but would be now expected to be a part of the traveling party that is heading to Asia for Juve’s participation in the International Champions Cup, with games against Tottenham and Inter Milan scheduled for July 21 and July 24, respectively.

It won’t be long before de Ligt is spotted in Juventus colors. Heck, it will be even a shorter wait to see him rocking Juve’s new training gear. (It’s nicer than the home kit, I gotta tell ya.) And that, my friends, is going to be one heck of a way to start the work week.