Paul Pogba’s start to life at Juventus was easy in comparison to Matthijs de Ligt’s first few months in Italy, according to the club’s sporting director.
The Manchester United midfielder moved to Turin as a 19-year-old in 2012 and was slowly introduced into one of Europe’s strongest midfields, with Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio all at the top of their game.
De Ligt, on the other hand, is already a regular starter for Serie A champions Juve at the age of 20, having been thrown in at the deep end after an injury to the experienced Giorgio Chiellini.
Fabio Paratici has heaped praised on the £67.5million summer signing, explaining how quickly he has had to adjust to life in a new league, unlike Pogba.
In an interview with Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport, Paratici said: ‘De Ligt is a monster. A monster! It’s the best investment on a young man we’ve ever done.
‘It made me smile to hear that someone had doubts about him. I have always been convinced of his qualities, but those who gave me confirmation of everything were the companions who told me: “Director, he is a phenomenon”.
‘It is a crazy thing because it takes concentration and a total application, always, for all the 90 minutes of all the games.
‘And he is not entering in a gradual way as it happened, for example, to Pogba who entered a midfield with Pirlo, Marchisio and Vidal.
‘He, due to the injury to Chiellini, was thrown in and must be the owner. He will become the strongest defender in the world.’