Matthijs de Ligt insists he will not “copy” the methods of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gianluigi Buffon in a bid to become a superstar in his own right, but the Dutch defender is looking to Juventus icons for inspiration.
At 21 years of age, the highly-rated Netherlands international centre-half is still in the process of learning his trade – despite being a former Ajax captain and a man closing in on 200 appearances at club level.
He has the perfect mentors around him in Turin, with a World Cup-winning goalkeeper and a Portuguese forward who has won the Ballon d'Or five times setting the standard for any promising youngster to aspire to.