According to Mirror, Liverpool have their eyes on Ajax starlet Perr Schuurs. The defender performed well against the Reds in a recent Champions League outing and left everyone impressed including Jurgen Klopp. A January offer could be on the cards given Liverpool’s current situation.
Perr Schuurs is a 20-year-old centre-back who plays for Eredivisie side Ajax. He started his career at FC Ria before starting his youth career with Fortuna Sittard in 2011. Spending the next few seasons in their youth teams, he was finally promoted to the senior side in 2016.
In 60 appearances for Fortuna Sittard, he has 10 goals and 8 assists in two spells for them. He was back for a second spell on loan after Ajax signed him in 2018. The youngster has made a solid impact at Ajax after the departure of Matthijs De Ligt and made the centre-back spot his own.
So far he has played 29 games for the senior side while scoring twice and assisting once (source – Transfermarkt). He also spent a lot of time in the reserves especially during his first year at the club. Shuurs is a regular of the Dutch youth sides and was even called up to the senior side in September.
While much has been made of Virgil Van Dijk’s ACL injury, things aren’t all that bad for Liverpool. Yes, Fabinho and Matip are still out but they are likely to be back in the next few weeks (source – Liverpool official site). In their absence, Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams have done a decent job.
Nonetheless, Liverpool should look at Shuurs as one for the future. The defender has been likened to a young Van Dijk. An interesting fact is that the Ajax man had a trial with Liverpool as a 17-year-old but the club felt it was best to let him continue at Fortuna Sittard.
A regular for the Ajax side now, he also has the experience of captaining the Fortuna side despite being so young. He comes with a lot of leadership qualities and his stature does give you the idea of where the Van Dijk comparisons come from.