Revealed: Why £80m defender wants Chelsea move after Rudiger’s departure to Real Madrid
Chelsea are looking to add at least two center backs this summer, and the Blues have been linked with Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli, Nathan Ake of Manchester City, and Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus.
Gianluca Di Marzio, an Italian journalist, has verified Chelsea’s interest in De Ligt.
Despite De Ligt’s £102 million release clause, Juventus reportedly values the center-back at roughly £80 million.
According to Italian media reports, De Ligt is interested in joining Chelsea, and the Blues are optimistic that a deal can be reached.
Prior to the 2022–23 season, Chelsea is reportedly intensifying its efforts to sign Matthijs de Ligt.
According to the source, Chelsea will make a fresh bid for the Juventus defender in the range of €70 million. The Chelsea side is believed to be optimistic about their chances of closing the deal in the upcoming weeks.
Additionally, according to the Italian site Tuttosport, Matthijs de Ligt is eager to advance under Thomas Tuchel because of Rudiger’s transformation from a peripheral player under Frank Lampard to a world-class defender.
Frank Leboeuf, a former Chelsea defender, believes De Ligt will succeed if he joins the team and does not see his lack of speed to be a problem.
Asked if he had concerns over the pace of Matthijs de Ligt playing alongside Thiago Silva at the heart of the team’s defence, Leboeuf told ESPN: “It’s a fact.
“But they have other qualities. De Ligt was struggling at first at Juventus, but he showed [his quality] when playing for Ajax. He [also] showed last season that he is capable of dealing with any striker.
“With the experience of Thiago Silva, with the help of Edouard Mendy and with N’Golo Kante in front of him, I am sure he can sort any problems out.”