Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has declared their long-term interest in Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt.

Having signed De Ligt's teammate Frenkie de Jong, Barca are expected to also move for the defender.

And Bartomeu confirmed: "We've followed him for a while. I like him a lot but Barca has other players with excellent abilities. We will see what will happen from March and April.

"But we like to see him play. But there is nothing. We recruited (Jean-Clair) Todibo, who is young and from the French school. In one year, we can have a central defender with sporting guarantees."