Chelsea ‘lead’ race for Dutch defender with super-agent trying to lower €120m release clause

Transfer News: Chelsea lead the race for Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus amid potential financial challenge

According to Tuttosport (h/t The Mirror), Chelsea are in pole position to sign the highly-rated Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt but will depend on one condition for the transfer to happen in the future.

Juve had paid £67.5m with £9m as add-ons to Ajax for the services of the Dutch defender in 2019. He was on the back of a great campaign with the Eredivisie club after helping them to the semi-final places in the Champions League.

Following his move, the defender has made 87 appearances with six goals and two assists to his tally. He has also won the Seria A title, Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italia during that period.

The Blues are interested in the 22-year-old but will depend on Mino Raiola to facilitate a future transfer. He has a €120m release clause in his current contract, which is a road-block for negotiations to undertake.

The clause will be activated at the end of this season, and Raiola is in talks with the Italian club to reduce the release clause. However, with Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini in the latter stages of their career, it remains to be seen what stance the Italian club takes with regards to that.

Thomas Tuchel’s side would be boosted by the financial crisis at Turin, which has seen the Seria A club incur €210 million losses for the 2020-21 season. They would need to find sources of money to not register losses for the second year in a row.

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The Champions League winners could use some fresh blood in their backline, with Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta nearing the twilight of their careers. Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah could take that role, but with Antonio Rudiger and Andres Christensen also in the last year of their contracts, there could be a defensive crisis at the Bridge next summer.