Football
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent 5y

Matthijs De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong would love to join Barcelona - Jasper Cillessen

Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen has said Ajax duo Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong would be keen to play for the club.

Sources have told ESPN FC that Barca are interested in singing De Ligt and De Jong as they target a new centre-back and midfielder, with reports saying they could cost up to €130 million.

And Cillessen, who plays alongside both for Netherlands, said they would be open to making the switch to the Camp Nou.

"Everybody in the national team would like to play for Barcelona because it's one of the best teams in the world," he told SPORT.

Ajax turned down two Barca bids for De Jong in the summer, and the Ducth club's sporting director Marc Overmars said De Ligt would not be allowed to leave in January.

However, Barcelona remain hopeful of completing a deal for at least one of the two players next summer.

Asked whether he had spoken to centre-back De Ligt about Barca's interest, Cillessen said: "He was at my table during every dinner [while with Holland last week], so we spoke a lot -- not just about Barcelona, about a lot of things.

"But I spoke with him about it. He has the level, but he's still 19 years old. He's physical, strong, mentally strong, especially if you see the [Nations League win] against Germany. In the first half he didn't go so well, but he recovered in the second half. He was also excellent against Bayern Munich in the Champions League for Ajax.

"I don't know, because Overmars is in charge at Ajax, so I don't know what he wants. I also read that he's not going anywhere [in January]."

De Jong, 21, plays in Sergio Busquets' role for Netherlands, but Cillessen said it was too early to compare him to the Barcelona midfielder.

"He can play various roles," he said. "With the national team, he plays more like Busquets. But Busquets is on another level at the moment. I think he's undervalued by most people.

"We spoke about him with the national team, and I said when he's not there you miss him -- that's the great quality of Busquets."

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