Report: German giants could scupper Chelsea’s hopes of landing Serie A star

Bayern Munich pose a huge threat for Chelsea in Matthijs de Ligt pursuit

According to the Evening Standard, Bayern Munich have asked Matthijs de Ligt to reject interest from Chelsea in order to pave the way for a move to Germany.  The Blues have yet to make their first signing of the summer and their first since Todd Boehly succeeded Roman Abramovich as the owner of the team.

The central defence area needs to be significantly strengthened as Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger have already left. Additionally, Cesar Azpilicueta, who has been strongly linked to Barcelona, might still leave before the season begins.

Chelsea are looking to sign Matthijs de Ligt or Nathan Ake soon. The Blues are negotiating with both the Dutch defenders. Even though Ake’s case appears to be more simple, the same cannot be said for De Ligt.

Juve initially turned down their initial trade offers for players like Jorginho and Timo Werner. The Italian powerhouses remain adamant that his £103 million release clause be fully honoured.

Bayern Munich could still beat Chelsea to snag the centre-half away from Stamford Bridge despite the fact that Chelsea are now more flexible on the price. Bayern are said to have spoken with the player about turning down a bid from Chelsea and joining the German champions instead because they don’t want to go into a bidding war.

De Ligt moved to Juventus from Ajax in 2019, and after a rocky adjustment period, he has steadily but surely cemented his position as a cornerstone of the Old Lady defence. He eventually replaced Georginio Chiellini as the season’s top centre-back starter.

The gifted Dutchman has made 42 appearances for the Bioncaneri this season across all competitions, scoring three goals and dishing out one assist. It is not surprising that Chelsea are interested in De Ligt because he is a natural leader and a strong presence in the back line.

More Chelsea News

• Transfer News: Barcelona want to lure Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso from Chelsea for €20M
• Chelsea make enquiry about Cristiano Ronaldo transfer situation at Manchester United
• Juventus reveal their stance regarding the transfer of Chelsea target Matthijs de Ligt

Under Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea has typically favoured playing with a back three, but it remains to be seen if the German coach would elect to change things up in central defence for the upcoming campaign. The wiser move would be to keep doing what is effective while strengthening our defence.

No matter what, the only way to replace players like Rudiger and Christensen who depart is to sign players of comparable or higher quality, and de Ligt is exactly that. De Ligt will be a valuable addition to Chelsea, so let’s hope they can pull it out despite the costs associated with the transaction.