In case you weren’t aware, Chelsea have been interested in Matthijs de Ligt for some time, but with everything going on at the club, it was put on the back burner.
The Dutch centre-back is currently at Juventus, where he plays regularly, but he has reached a point in his contract where either he renews or looks for a way out, with Manchester City now thrown into the mix.
What doesn’t help him is the €120m release clause currently in his contract, which is due to go up to €140m next year, giving his club all the negotiating power they need.
Unfortunately for them, the only way he would be happy to renew would be if his new contract had a lower release clause; one far more affordable for other clubs, like Chelsea and Manchester City.
We mention the Premier League duo, as they are the ones pushed by Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday in an article on the situation.
The newspaper now make it clear that ‘Juventus do not intend to open a negotiation’ when it comes to a sale, meaning De Ligt ‘will only leave is there is someone willing to pay the entire release clause, no less’.As you can imagine, there are ‘no offers at the moment’ of that magnitude, but ‘the interest of Chelsea and also of Guardiola’s Manchester City, a club that would have no problem spending €120m, should be noted’.
We’re not entirely sure if that last part is true, but we do know that Premier League clubs have a lot of money, and can wield it to their advantage if needed.
Whether Chelsea or Manchester City decide to make that commitment, however, remains unclear.
