Premier League giants Chelsea have reportedly been told to shell out €115 million for Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt.
According to a report by Italian publication Corriere dello Sport, Chelsea might have to shell out as much as €115 million to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus. The west Londoners are desperately looking for central defensive signings and have made de Ligt their priority target.
Chelsea have been left needing heavy defensive reinforcements after the departures of their two first-choice centre-backs. Antonio Rudiger has signed for Real Madrid, while Andreas Christensen is on the verge of joining Barcelona, who are waiting to offload some players to register new signings.
The full-back duo of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso face uncertain futures at Stamford Bridge as well. Both the Spanish internationals have just a year remaining on their respective Chelsea contracts and have been linked with a move to Barcelona.
Thus, Chelsea need to strengthen their defensive unit ahead of the 2022/23 season. They have been long-time admirers of Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde. Chelsea attempted to sign the French defender last summer but were forced to step out after Sevilla increased their demands at the last minute.
Chelsea again returned for the French defender this year, but with Barcelona entering the race as well, they have yet to get the Kounde deal through. They are thus now focussing on other options, and de Ligt has emerged as a priority target with the player keen on joining Chelsea.
The Blues are exploring the possibility of getting the Dutchman on board. They are reportedly planning a part-exchange deal which would see Timo Werner move to Turin. The offer reported by Gianluca Di Marzio would be worth €25 million to €30 million plus Werner, but Juventus will not be convinced easily.
As per Corriere dello Sport, Juventus want just cash for de Ligt’s transfer and have quoted a sum of €115 million. The Serie A giants signed the Dutchman for €85 million in the 2019 summer transfer window, and he still has two years left on his contract with them. It will be interesting to see if Chelsea are ready to pay €115 million to sign their priority defensive target this summer.
