Romano rules out Chelsea signing 22-year-old Dutch star in January

Transfer News: Chelsea suffer setback as Fabrizio Romano reveals Juventus unwilling to let Matthijs de Ligt leave in January

Speaking on his ‘Here We Go’ podcast (h/t football.london), Fabrizio Romano revealed that Matthijs de Ligt is not leaving Juventus in January amidst transfer interest from Chelsea.

The 22-year-old was brilliant for Ajax during their road to the Champions League semi-final in 2019. Since moving to Juventus in the same year, he has racked up 90 appearances for the Old Lady.

In doing so, he has helped them to a Serie A triumph as well. The young defender has now been linked to Chelsea as they look to add to their star-studded squad.

However, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed the Dutch international shall not be leaving Turin in January. 

“At the moment from Juve’s side, they have received nothing from Chelsea for Matthijs de Ligt. I can add Matthijs de Ligt is not leaving Juve in January, so maybe it will be something for the summer.

“There are no contacts between Matthijs de Ligt and Chelsea about the summer. I expect Chelsea to do something in defence, but I am not sure it will be Matthijs de Ligt.”

Chelsea can do without Matthijs de Ligt

The Blues currently possess Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Antonio Rudiger as their centre-back options. Although the latter quartet could be out of contract in the summer, the club is working towards a deal to tie some, if not all of them down.

Christensen is thought to be close to sealing a new deal, according to Football Insider (h/t football.london). Silva could also agree to a new contract soon, as per 90min.com (h/t football.london). 

Despite that, we can live without signing a defender in the winter transfer window. Any realistic addition could be made in the summer after a full evaluation of the squad. If we do have substantial depth next summer, the transfer budget can be prioritized towards some other targets. 

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But it would be wrong to say that De Ligt wouldn’t strengthen Chelsea. The young Dutchman is a force to reckon with in defence and already a leader at the back at such a young age. If he ever comes to Stamford Bridge, not a lot of fans would be unhappy with getting a player who has partnered and trained with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Leonardo Bonucci, and Giorgio Chiellini through his career.