Club Trying To Initiate Bidding War Between Liverpool And Chelsea For £85M Valued Player

Juventus are hopeful that Liverpool will reignite their interest in defender Matthijs de Ligt, in order to spark a bidding war with Chelsea.

De Ligt has struggled for consistency since his £65 million switch from Ajax in 2019 and the Italian giants now want to offload him this summer.

A number of top European clubs are said to be interested, with Chelsea supposedly the club that has made the most substantial movements to acquire the 22-year-old.

However, according to Corriere dello Sport, Juve are not satisfied with the West London club’s current offer.

They are hoping that interest arrives from elsewhere, with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain also said to be keen.

Chelsea are reportedly offering somewhere in the region of £64.5 million for de Ligt, but the Old Lady are only willing to accept a bid closer to £85 million.

It’s claimed that Juventus are desperate to sort the player’s future out as soon as possible.

Liverpool are said to be the side most likely to challenge Chelsea for the former Ajax defender’s signature, as they may look to secure a long-term successor to the imperious Virgil Van Dijk early.

In order to maximise their profits for the starlet, Juve are said to be attempting to encourage the Reds’ interest.

Despite de Ligt’s obvious qualities, Jurgen Klopp may feel this window isn’t the one to strengthen in this department.

He already has Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip already at his disposal.

The fee that the Italian club are said to be demanding also appears to make this deal unrealistic this summer.

The Merseyside club have already spent £85 million on Darwin Nunez, while also adding youngsters Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay to their ranks.

If any further incomings are to be expected at Anfield this summer, it’d likely be in midfield, where Klopp may feel he needs to freshen his ageing options up.