Man City left with food for thought after De Ligt display

manchester city netherlands v belarus pep guardiola frenkie de jong ajax fc

The Netherlands cruised past Belarus to earn their first victory of the qualifying campaign for Euro 2020 and former Manchester City target Frenkie De Jong ran the show from midfield in their 4-0 win.

The 21-year-old turned Pep Guardiola down for the chance to play with Lionel Messi at Barcelona in January to prolong Guardiola's search for an heir to Fernandinho's throne at the Etihad.

It was a disappointment for the Blues but they could still profit from the most exciting generation of Dutch talent in well over a decade.

De Jong's Ajax teammate, Matthijs de Ligt, exhibited his brilliance on the ball at the heart of the Netherlands' defence alongside Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk against Belarus and the 19-year-old bears the traits of a potential successor to Vincent Kompany at City.

The City captain, 32, has still to sign a new deal at the club and, with Nicolás Otamendi having turned 31 last month, a renewed defensive recruitment drive will be in order at the Etihad before long.

City were linked earlier this year with the Ajax captain, who oversaw the Dutch side's incredible comeback against Real Madrid in the Champions League last-16, and De Ligt has quickly asserted himself among the world's most promising teenagers.

Meanwhile, Guardiola will be hopeful that his City charges avoid injury on international duty on Friday night.

Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker are in line to feature for England in the Three Lions' Euro 2020 qualifier against the Czech Republic, while Bernardo Silva could turn out for Portugal against Oleksandr Zinchenko's Ukraine.

2019-03-22 08:21:46

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