Chelsea saw their offer for Matthijs de Ligt rejected by Italian side Juventus, even though Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic were on the table.
Todd Boehly, the new owner, has prioritized bringing in a new defender and is expected to support Thomas Tuchel heavily in the summer transfer market.
According to recent reports, De Ligt is one of his top targets, and the Blues are still interested in him despite not being willing to match his release clause.
In fact, it’s claimed that Chelsea launched the competition with a player-plus-cash offer of roughly £40 million, along with the option of Werner or Pulisic.
However, according to the Italian tabloid Tuttosport, the Old Lady rejected this arrangement since neither player was compelling enough to persuade them to make a transaction.
The same source also stated that Juventus and manager Massimiliano Allegri are looking for new forwards and that the west London team was aware of this.
Despite Chelsea’s failure, it is said that Todd Boehly is not “mad” at the rejection yet. Werner, who has struggled in the Premier League, does not meet Allegri’s ideal No. 9, who is a more classic No. 9 with strength and physicality.
In contrast to Pulisic, Juventus is pursuing free agent Angel Di Maria.
Chelsea would likely need to make a significant monetary bid to acquire De Ligt as the Serie A powerhouses are still hesitant to let the Holland international go.
They estimate the asset’s worth at about €100 million (£86 million), which would surpass the £75 million Liverpool paid Southampton for Virgil van Dijk in late 2017.
De Ligt, a stalwart who currently has a prohibitive £102 million buyout clause, is debating signing fresh terms, as Sportsmail revealed on Saturday.
Although Chelsea would not meet his clause, he is open to a move to the Premier League.
Matthijs de Ligt
Dutch professional footballer Matthijs de Ligt, born on August 12, 1999, plays center back for Juventus of Serie A and the Netherlands national team.
De Ligt made his senior team debut for Ajax on September 21 against Willem II in a cup match. After 25 minutes, he converted a corner to score, passing Clarence Seedorf as the second-youngest goal scorer in history.
He started against Manchester United in the 2017 UEFA Europa League Final on May 24, making history as the youngest player (17 years, 285 days) to ever play in a major European final.
De Ligt became the first defender to receive the Golden Boy award on December 17, 2018.
His efforts earned him a transfer to Serie A team Juventus, where he won the Kopa Trophy in 2019. The following season, he assisted Ajax in winning the domestic double and reaching the Champions League semifinals.
In his debut campaign with the Turin team, he captured the Serie A championship.
De Ligt, the youngest player to start for the national team since 1931, made his international debut for the Netherlands in 2017 at the age of 17. At UEFA Euro 2020, he played for the team.
