Chelsea are leading the way in the battle to poach Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus, according to Italian reports, after the Bianconeri spent big for Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina and seek free agents in defence.
Many wonder how the Turin giants have been able to afford the deal for Vlahovic, which is worth €67m plus up to €8m in various performance-related bonuses.
It suggests a big departure could be imminent and the starlet they can make the most money from is probably De Ligt.
As Calciomercato.com point out, the Dutch defender is still only 22 years old and his contract runs to June 2024, so it will soon be time to either work out an extension or prepare an exit.
He was signed from Ajax in 2019 for €85.5m and has a release clause worth €125m, but would be allowed to leave for a lower fee than that.
Chelsea are the leading contenders for De Ligt, meaning Juve are already on the look-out for potential low-cost replacements.
Bearing also in mind that Giorgio Chiellini is nearing retirement and Leonardo Bonucci has a lot more injuries than he used to, the aim is to lower the average age of the defence.
Calciomercato.com suggest Daniele Rugani will be kept on, while Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are options as free agent when their Chelsea contracts expire in June, although PSG and Real Madrid already have the advantage for the ex-Roma star.
Alessio Romagnoli is another player who could be snapped up on a free from Milan and, like De Ligt, is represented by agent Mino Raiola.
Nicklas Sule’s contract with Bayern Munich is running down in June and the German international at 26 is still a good age to build around.
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