Chelsea join Manchester United in transfer race for Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt
According to talkSPORT (h/t Metro), Chelsea have joined Manchester United in the race to sign Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt on a potential move ahead of the summer transfer window. He has become a mainstay at Allianz Stadium in recent years, taking the mantle from the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci during that period.
The Blues are searching the market for the centre-back following Antonio Rudiger’s departure to Real Madrid. They have been linked with a move for Sevilla ace Jules Kounde, and now de Ligt is also in the mix as of now. The English club could target the Juve superstar to reinforce their backline ahead of the next season.
De Ligt is under contract in Turin for two more years and has a release clause in his deal worth £102million. As such, his signing would probably be expensive, with Thomas Tuchel’s side eager to find a replacement for Rudiger at the earliest. Whether that will be Kounde, de Ligt, or someone else would need to be seen in due time.
Could de Ligt join Chelsea?
Rudiger is not the only centre-back we will be losing this summer, with Andreas Christensen also being set to join Barcelona ahead of the next campaign. Cesar Azpilicueta could also leave to move to Camp Nou this summer, while Thiago Silva would need to be replaced eventually in the future.
While we have options like Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill and Malang Sarr in our ranks, they are not ready to take the mantle and be regular starters for us just yet. As such, signing de Ligt can be considered crucial as he has already garnered experience playing in the top-flight for quite some time.
De Ligt recently suggested that he could leave Massimiliano Allegri’s side if their current sporting project fails to convince him moving forward. He is currently in talks with them over a renewal, but perhaps we could have a shot at signing him, considering how they have not been at their best over the past few seasons.
While we are going through a bit of an uncertain time due to the defensive exodus and the entire situation surrounding the club’s sale, the current circumstance could indicate that the issues have been overcome, and we could work toward achieving sporting success once again.
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Hence, it would not be too much of a reach to say that our success under Tuchel in recent years could be more of an attractive proposition for de Ligt than staying in Italy. Then again, we have to wait and see whether his transfer would be feasible due to the high release clause and a fairly long contract.
Kounde being another option does give us some leeway if the club decide to end their interest in de Ligt due to the high cost. Let’s wait and see how this situation will pan out in the coming weeks ahead of the upcoming term.