Chelsea are reportedly turning their attention towards Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt after failing to bring in a new defender over the summer.
The Blues have been linked with Sevilla’s Jules Kounde for some time now, with Tuttomercatoweb claiming the Frenchman remains a long-term target for the west London giants.
However, a report from Calciomercato now claims that Chelsea are big fans of De Ligt, and that the Netherlands international is now their priority target for that area of the pitch.
It will be interesting to see how this develops, but it may be that Chelsea and other clubs will be tempted by the fact that De Ligt will have a release clause of around €120million kicking in from next summer, according to Tuttosport.
That would surely make the 22-year-old a very tempting option for a host of elite sides, following the player’s remarkable rise in recent years.
De Ligt first impressed at Ajax, showing himself to be a real leader and big-game player from a young age, and it quickly earned him a big move to Juventus.
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Despite a slightly slow start in Serie A, De Ligt is clearly now one of Juve’s most important players, and it would be a big blow for them to lose him.
Chelsea, however, could do with a centre-back of this calibre as Antonio Rudiger heads towards the end of his contract, while Thiago Silva has just turned 37 and surely doesn’t have that much longer left at the highest level.