Transfer News: Chelsea progressing in their talks to sign Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt
According to the Telegraph (Subscription Required), Chelsa are ‘progressing’ in their talks with Juventus to sign talented Dutch centre-back Matthijs de Ligt this summer.
That Chelsea need to sign centre-backs to just survive next season is absolutely no secret. With a number of high-profile names leaving the club this summer and maybe more to follow, the Blues find themselves extremely short of options.
Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah seem to be the only two names in central defence who are surely staying at Stamford Bridge next season and although Levi Colwill returning from loan is an option, we still don’t know if Thomas Tuchel trusts the young Englishman.
Chelsea have been linked with a number of centre-backs in recent weeks and the two names on the radar right now include Manchester City’s Nathan Ake and Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt. The latter is widely regarded as one of the best young centre-backs in Italy and would not come cheap.
De Ligt joined Juventus from Ajax in 2019 and after a rough start to life in Italy, he has slowly yet surely established himself as a mainstay in the Old Lady defence. He has eventually displaced Georginio Chiellini as the first-choice starter at centre-back this season.
This season, the talented Dutchman has played 42 times for the Bioncaneri across all competitions scoring three goals and providing one assist. A natural leader, De Ligt is a commanding presence in the back line and it is no surprise that Chelsea are interested in him.
Chelsea have generally preferred playing with a back three under Thomas Tuchel but it remains to be seen if the German tactician decides to switch things next season due to the lack of options in central defence. The better bet would be to continue with what is working and shore up our backline.
Regardless, when players like Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leave, the only way to replace them is by signing players of similar or better quality and de Ligt is just that. Despite the expenses involved in the deal, de Ligt will be a useful signing for Chelsea and let’s hope they pull it off.
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Chelsea would offer him a new challenge and exposure to a different style of opponents, as football in Serie A and the Premier League, of course, isn’t exactly the same. Whether he is up for it remains to be seen, although it is claimed that a move to the Blues
