Koeman speaks about De Jong and De Ligt's futures
The coach says they must make their own decisions about next move
Ronald Koeman spoke on Wednesday about two issues currently surrounding Barcelona: Ernesto Valverde's future and the possible signings of Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.
The Dutch national team coach avoided speaking too much about Valverde: "I'm not the ideal person to speak about that."
The former Barça player, though, did add: "[Barça] are top of LaLiga. I hope they go far in the Champions League and I think that if they win things, the coach has to continue."
As for a possible double signing from Ajax, Koeman said: De Jong and De Ligt are the typical Dutch players. They've had a good schooling in Holland and they're really good players -- and they're really young. They have huge futures ahead of them. They are decisions they have to take [about who to sign for].
"I have given them my advice. Obviously I speak with them about these issues because the players ask me what's for the best, but the conversations remain private.
"I prefer to say nothing because it's to do with them. They have to decide their next step, or if they stay at Ajax, which wouldn't be a bad option.
"They're players with a lot of interest across Europe, but at the end of the day money is not important, but getting minutes were they go, because they're both young -- [De Jong] 21 and [De Ligt] 19."
Reports on Wednesday claimed De Jong had backtracked on an agreement with Barça and will sign for Paris Saint-Germain instead.
"I don't know if De Jong's going to PSG or not," Koeman said. "We have to wait until the final word, which is what the player had. They're both good guys and will decide what's best for them.
"Each one must be totally convinced what direction they're taking. For me, it wasn't a problem signing for Barça at 26. I wanted to play for Barça."
Asked about Alvaro Morata, another player linked with Barça, he added: "He has the quality to play for Barça. He's been in the Premier League for a while now, which is strong competition physically. He's prepared and in condition to play anywhere."
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