If Kylian Mbappe is the world's next elite forward, his defensive counterpart is undoubtedly Matthijs de Ligt.The 19-year-old centre-half has carried the hype on his shoulders ever since breaking into the Ajax side in September 2016.Scoring 25 minutes into his debut helped, of course, but his performances since have proven that he's very much the real deal.Such is his promise, in fact, that the Dutch national team called him up after just two starts in the Eredivisie and made him their youngest debutant since the second world war.De Ligt's national debut was actually a terrible one - he made two mistakes and was substituted at halftime - but he has since established himself.He's now a part of the Netherlands best defensive partnership in a long time alongside Virgil van Dijk that had seen back-to-back clean sheets against Germany and France before Monday's game.The Netherlands headed into that game with rivals, and already relegated, Germany knowing that a draw would be enough to earn progress into the semi-finals.And while the headlines will undoubtedly be held by Van Dijk's last-minute equaliser to guarantee just that, De Ligt was sure to show off just what he can bring to the table, too.With 15 minutes left to play, the teenager found himself well into the German half with the ball.He pushed on, came across and onrushing Toni Kroos, and pulled off a fantastic bit of skill to evade the challenge.You can check out De Ligt's dribble below:

How many centre-backs can do that? Let alone at 19 and against one of the most elite midfield players on the planet.

Understandably, fans loved it.

It's ability like that which has led to such firm links with the likes of Barcelona over the past year.

De Ligt can defend very well and has the required athleticism to compete, but his ability on the ball is truly outstanding for a young defender.

And every time he does something like this, that transfer fee creeps a little higher.