Chelsea have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt after he told Juventus of his wish to leave this summer after explosive contract talks with the Old Lady, according to reports.
The 22-year-old is looking to depart the Serie A side three years after making the £67.5 million switch from Ajax back in 2019.
De Ligt has two years left to run on his contract which includes a release clause of around £100 million.
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He has received interest from Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premier League, with the Blues eyeing a defensive rebuild following the departures of duo Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen this summer.
"We are rebuilding, not improving the squad. We are rebuilding," Tuchel said last month. "This is always challenging but we are up for the challenge. I don’t know where we are from day one.
"What I can promise is that I will be here if I can promise that! I will be here with full energy and positive energy no matter what.
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"We will still work for Chelsea and I refuse to think of negative scenarios."
Thomas Tuchel needs to replace the pair and De Ligt is among the options they are considering.
Now there has been a development in regard to De Ligt's future in Italy. As reported by Corriere dello Sport, a meeting was held between all parties yesterday - player's lawyer and club - over his contract and the release clause.
It was a meeting that took place in Milan to resolve his position at the Bianconeri, but it 'exploded' which saw De Ligt's camp ask for his release clause to be lowered.
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Juventus wanted to extend the central defender's contract by a further two years to 2026, and still plan on trying to do so, but after an hour of discussions, no agreement could be reached over his current deal.
The Dutch international has now made a decision of his intention to seal a transfer this summer.
His release clause is seen by his entourage as 'too high' and a 'brake on potential market opportunities'.
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With no agreement, De Ligt has now put Chelsea and Man United on red alert, while Manchester City, Real Madrid and PSG have also been linked with the 22-year-old.
La Repubblica add that De Ligt's agent Rafaela Pimenta has a 'few proposals' from the Premier League for the defender with the 'most concrete' coming from Tuchel's side.
Chelsea are claimed to be willing to invest £60 million this summer to land him to bolster their defence.
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Fellow defender Jules Kounde is a strong target of Chelsea's with personal terms already believed to be agreed. Sevilla are ready to let the Frenchman leave for €65 million this summer.
Topics: Matthijs De Ligt, Chelsea, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Juventus, Transfers, Manchester United, Manchester City
Matthew Debono