Juventus have put a €100million price tag on the head of Matthijs de Ligt to fend off interest from the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea, as the 22-year-olds contract edges closer to its expiration date in the summer of 2024.
The centre-back does not seem to be entirely happy in Italy according to Fichajes and this is fuelling one more summer of rumours about his possible departure from the Bianconeri team, with Mino Raiola said to be already moving chips to remove the centre-back from Turin.
Chelsea have long been said to be interested in the 22-year-old according to many sources such as Football London and the Juventus man would be a brilliant replacement for outgoing centre-back Andreas Christensen, who looks set to leave the Blues upon his contract expiring in the summer.
One of the Denmark international’s possible destinations is Barca, with the Daily Mail suggesting that the 26-year-old might have already signed for the La Liga giants. This would almost completely rule out the signing of De Ligt, as the Catalan side would struggle to afford the salaries of both players.
De Ligt has been a target for Barca all the way back to when he played for Ajax but the Catalan giants missed out then due to the Dutchman opting for Italy.
The €100million asking price will be well out of Blaugrana side’s price range, as they continue to struggle financially and it is likely that they will have to look beyond the Netherlands international once again, with Christensen possibly being that man already.
This could open the door for Chelsea but the London side have problems of their own, thanks to their ownership situation, which will be music to Juve’s ears.