On June 22nd, we carried a report from Calciomercato, who explained that Chelsea are in pole position to sign Matthijs de Ligt.
It was also stated the Juventus star is the first-choice target for the Blues manager, Thomas Tuchel.
The defender has two years left on his contract and that includes a €120m release clause, valid for this summer.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side are trying to offer him a new deal, which will include a pay cut and a lower release clause of €80m. The Serie A side haven’t made progress with the 22-year-old’s renewal so far.
Meanwhile, Sky Italia now claim ‘there was a first interest’ from the west London club in the Netherlands international.
At the moment, Chelsea have not made an official offer, and Juve will only consider sanctioning the centre-back’s sale if there is an offer close to his €120m release clause.
Italian journalist Luca Marchetti, writing in his column for TuttoMercatoWeb, explains the Blues’ ‘interest is almost public’.
Marchetti adds that if there is an ‘important offer’ for De Ligt, then Juventus will have to consider it.
The first thing, however, is to know ‘if and how Chelsea will approach’ for the Dutchman.
